Walzenhausen 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 ...
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
The farm ''Walzenhausen'' was mentioned first in 1320. The church was built in 1638 in as little as nine months. This was the establishment of Walzenhausen as a municipality.
In the past textiles played an important role, but today tourism has taken this role. This is facilitated by good public transport links.
Geography
Walzenhausen has an area, , of . Of this area, 52.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 34.4% is forested. The rest of the land, (13.1%) is settled.
[
Walzenhausen is the easternmost village in the canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. It lies at and offers a panorama of ]Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
below.
Grimmenstein monastery
Grimmenstein Monastery is a monastery of Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Walzenhausen in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. While it is located in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the buildings and grounds are a small ex ...
is a small exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner-Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Innerrhoden rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadens; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Interno) is one of the 26 cantons ...
within the municipality. During the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
Walzenhausen adopted the new faith, while the monastery remained catholic. After centuries of debate and conflict over the monastery lands, in 1870 the federal government declared that land within the monastery walls was part of Innerrhoden.
Transport
The Rheineck–Walzenhausen mountain railway
The Rheineck–Walzenhausen mountain railway (german: Bergbahn Rheineck–Walzenhausen; RhW) is a long rack railway in Switzerland. It links Rheineck station, in the municipality of Rheineck and the canton of St Gallen, with the village and hea ...
links the village to Rheineck railway station
Rheineck railway station (german: Bahnhof Rheineck) is a railway station that serves the municipality of Rheineck, in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The station is located on the eastern edge of Rheineck village centre, with the A1 motorwa ...
, below. The line operates one or two return journeys per hour, depending on the time of day, which connect at Rheineck with main line services to the city of St. Gallen and other local towns. Local buses link Walzenhausen to Heiden and St. Margrethen
St. Margrethen (Saint Margrethen/Sankt Margrethen) is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Geography
St. Margrethen has an area, , of . Of this area, 28.3% is used for agric ...
.
Demographics
Walzenhausen has a population () of 2,071, of which about 16.2% 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 -4.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (92.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.7%) and Italian being third ( 1.4%).
accessed 17-Sep-2009[ The age distribution, , in Walzenhausen is; 176 people or 8.1% of the population are between 0–6 years old. 278 people or 12.7% are 6-15, and 98 people or 4.5% are 16–19. Of the adult population, 96 people or 4.4% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 646 people or 29.6% are 25–44, and 530 people or 24.3% are 45–64. The senior population distribution is 250 people or 11.5% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old, and 107 people or 4.9% are over 80.][Appenzell Outer Rhodes website]
accessed 15 September 2009
In the 2007 federal election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...
the FDP received 68.4% of the vote.[
In Walzenhausen about 68.5% 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 ...
'').[
Walzenhausen has an unemployment rate of 1.67%. , there were 53 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 27 businesses involved in this sector. 323 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 construction. ...
and there are 34 businesses in this sector. 732 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 72 businesses in this sector.[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Notable residents
*Carl Lutz
Carl Lutz (30 March 1895 – 12 February 1975) was a Swiss diplomat. He served as the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary, from 1942 until the end of World War II. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews during the Second World War in a ...
(1895–1975), Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews
References
External links
Official Page
(German)
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Appenzell Ausserrhoden