Trogen 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 canton of

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden; rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadora; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Esterno) is one of the 26 canton ...

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 ...

. The town is the seat of the canton's judicial authorities.

History

The first mentioning of Trogen was in 1168 (''Trugin''). The name Trogen refers to a number of fountains (''Trögen'') which is reflected in the coat of arms. In the 18th century the village was dominated by the local Zellweger family which enjoyed success with textile production and trade. The family established the grammar school (''Kantonsschule'') in 1821.

Geography

Trogen has an area, , of . Of this area, 50.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 41.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 7.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Demographics

Trogen has a population () of 1,688, of which about 7.7% are foreign nationals.Brief Statistics for the half-canton
accessed 15 September 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -15.2%. Most of the population () speaks German (92.9%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 2.0%) and Italian being third ( 0.9%).
accessed 17-Sep-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 50.3% male and 49.7% female. The age distribution, , in Trogen is; 130 people or 7.0% of the population are between 0–6 years old. 271 people or 14.5% are 6-15, and 149 people or 8.0% are 16-19. Of the adult population, 80 people or 4.3% of the population are between 20–24 years old. 502 people or 26.9% are 25-44, and 452 people or 24.2% are 45-64. The senior population distribution is 186 people or 10.0% of the population are between 65–79 years old, and 97 people or 5.2% are over 80.Appenzell Outer Rhodes website
accessed 15 September 2009 In the 2007 federal election the FDP received 66.8% of the vote. In Trogen about 74.8% 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 ...

''). Trogen has an unemployment rate of 1.46%. , there were 62 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 34 businesses involved in this sector. 76 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 20 businesses in this sector. 751 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 86 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

Several buildings in the village core, the Protestant church of 1782, the refectory with the cantonal library, the 1805 town hall and the two Zellweger palaces (''Doppelpalast'' / ''Fünfeckpalast'') are listed as heritage sites of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 17-Sep-2009

Sights

Trogen is dominated by the local mountain ''

Gäbris Gäbris is a mountain of the Appenzell Alps The Appenzell Alps (german: Appenzeller Alpen) are a mountain range in Switzerland on the northern edge of the Alps. They extend into the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and ...

''. The village is well known for the Pestalozzi Children Foundation's children village which was built in the 1940s.

Weather

Trogen has an average of 155.1 days of rain 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 July during which time Trogen receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 14.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 15.4, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is January with an average of of precipitation over 14.2 days., the weather station elevation is 945 meters above sea level.

Transport

Trogen is linked to the city of St. Gallen by the

Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway The Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway, also known as the Durchmesserlinie (diameter line), is a Metre-gauge railway, metre gauge Interurban, overland tramway in the Swiss cantons of Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and ...

, a narrow-gauge road-side railway line. The line operates two trains per hour throughout the day, with four trains per hour during peak periods. The journey from St. Gallen to Trogen takes 25 minutes.

Notable people

Mark Staff Brandl Mark Staff Brandl (born 1955) is an Americans, American-born artist, art historian and philosopher of art now living primarily in Switzerland. History Born in Peoria, Illinois and raised in Pekin, Illinois, Brandl is the son of Earl and Ruth ...

(* 1955), artist and art historian, lives in Trogen *

Wangpo Tethong Wangpo Tethong (born 16 April 1963, Trogen, Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden) is the owner and managing director of Tethong Kommunikation. He is a former party secretary of the Green Party Canton of Zurich, spokesperson of Greenpeace Switzerland ...

(born 1963), Swiss-Tibetan activist, writer, spokesperson of

Greenpeace Switzerland Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

and member of the 15th

Tibetan Parliament in Exile The Tibetan Parliament in Exile (TPiE), officially the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration, is the unicameral and highest legislative organ of the Central Tibetan Administration, the government-in-exile of the Tibet Autonomous Reg ...

References

External links

Official Page
*
Pestalozzi Children Foundation
{{Authority control Cultural property of national significance in Appenzell Ausserrhoden Municipalities of Appenzell Ausserrhoden