Schänis is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of
See-Gaster
See-Gaster is a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Wahlkreis ( SFOS number 1726) has been established on June 10, 2001, with an area of .
It was formed from the former ''See'' and ''Gaster'' districts in ...
in the
canton of
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
History
Schänis is first mentioned in 972 as ''Schennines''. Until 1798 it was the capital of the
Herrschaft
The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...
of Gaster and until 1831 it was the capital of the District.
[ In the ]War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
, part of the French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
, it was the site of several battles between the Habsburg forces and the French Revolutionary Army: in particular, the first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
battles of Zurich and the Battle of Winterthur
The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the Frenc ...
were fought there, or nearby. It was considered part of territory necessary to hold if the Coalition forces were to secure the Swiss Cantons. On the morning of 25 September, prior to the second Battle of Zurich, Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze and his chief of staff were killed there while conducted a reconnaissance ride near the village of Schänis, on the Linth
The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length.
The water power of the Linth ...
river by a party French scouts from the 25th Demi-brigade.[ Ebert. As of Stella is the mayor of Schäni]
''Freiherr von Hotze''
Initially, Hotze was taken from the battlefield to the church in Schänis, where he was buried. In 1851, his body was moved to Bregenz
Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...
and established in a monument there.
Geography
Schänis has an area, , of . Of this area, 49.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 41.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4.5%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).[
The municipality is located in the See-Gaster ''Wahlkreis'' on a terrace on the edge of the ]Linth
The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length.
The water power of the Linth ...
valley. It consists of the village of Schänis and the hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
of Maseltrangen, Dorf, Rufi and Rütiberg as well as seasonally occupied alpine herding villages near the Speer range.
Coat of arms
The blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
is ''Per fess Argent a Lion passant Gules and in canton a Cross couped Or and Gules a Crown Or.''
Demographics
Schänis has a population (as of ) of . , about 9.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 42 are from Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, 64 are from Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, 230 are from ex-Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, 10 are from Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, 5 are from Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and 63 are from another country.[Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen - Ausgabe 2009]
accessed 30 December 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 3.7%. Most of the population () speaks German (93.0%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.2%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.7%).
accessed 8 January 2010 Of the Swiss national languages (), 3,323 speak German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 9 people speak French, 31 people speak Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and 8 people speak Romansh.[
The age distribution, , in Schänis is; 503 children or 14.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 578 teenagers or 16.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 409 people or 11.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 584 people or 16.3% are between 30 and 39, 507 people or 14.2% are between 40 and 49, and 375 people or 10.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 286 people or 8.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 213 people or 6.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 96 people or 2.7% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 22 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99.][Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen]
accessed 30 December 2009
there were 326 persons (or 9.1% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 633 (or 17.7%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 2,196 (or 61.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 211 (or 5.9%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 25 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 15 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 36 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 131 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.[
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (32.7%), the FDP (7.5%) and the SP (7.2%).][
In Schänis about 63.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '']Fachhochschule
A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...
'').[ Out of the total population in Schänis, , the highest education level completed by 935 people (26.2% of the population) was ]Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
, while 1,195 (33.4%) have completed their secondary education, 266 (7.4%) have attended a Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
school, and 134 (3.8%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
watch tower at ''Biberlikopf'', the former women's collegiate foundation house ''zum Heiligen Kreuz'' at Rathausplatz 1 and the ''Gallusturm'' are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
Economy
, Schänis had an unemployment rate of 1.31%. , there were 265 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 108 businesses involved in this sector. 433 people are employed in the secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there are 40 businesses in this sector. 597 people are employed in the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, with 92 businesses in this sector.[
the average unemployment rate was 2.5%. There were 251 businesses in the municipality of which 48 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 97 were involved in the third.
there were 715 residents who worked in the municipality, while 1,129 residents worked outside Schänis and 444 people commuted into the municipality for work.St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters]
accessed 31 December 2009
Religion
From the , 2,487 or 69.6% are Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, while 535 or 15.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
. Of the rest of the population, there are 2 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 58 individuals (or about 1.62% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 48 individuals (or about 1.34% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There is 1 individual who is Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and 133 (or about 3.72% of the population) who are Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic. There are 1 individuals (or about 0.03% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 167 (or about 4.67% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
or atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 141 individuals (or about 3.95% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Weather
Schänis has an average of 152 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. The wettest month is August during which time Schänis receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 14.4 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 15.3, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 14.4 days.[, the weather station elevation is 415 meters above sea level.]
Transport
Schänis railway station is a stop located on the regional line between Rapperswil and Ziegelbrücke. The station is currently single tracked; a second platform used to exist but was lifted at the end of the 1990s. It is served by St. Gallen S-Bahn services S4, which operates in both directions around a loop via Uznach
Uznach is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
History
Uznach is first mentioned in 741 as ''Uzinaa'' in a grant from a noble lady at Benken Abbey to the Abbey of Saint G ...
, St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
, Sargans
Sargans is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Sargans is known for its castle, which dates from before the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Sargans was also ...
and Ziegelbrücke
Ziegelbrücke is a village in Switzerland. Ziegelbrücke is shared by the municipalities of Niederurnen in the canton of Glarus and Schänis in the canton of St. Gallen.
Geography and political situation
The village of Ziegelbrücke is divided ...
, and service S6, which links Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
with Schwanden via Uznach and Ziegelbrücke. Both trains run hourly, combining to provide half-hourly services to Uznach and Ziegelbrücke.
Schänis Airport (LSZX) is also in the municipality. It is primarily used for the sport of gliding or soaring.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schanis
Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen