Wattwil 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

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...

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 ...

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 ...

. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of

Krinau Krinau is a former municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 Krinau merged into the municipality of Wattwil.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013

Geography

Since the merger, the new municipality has an area of . Before the merger, Wattwil had an area, , of . Of this area, 52.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.8%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). Krinau had an area, , of . Of this area, 57.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). It consisted of the village of Krinau 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 Altschwil, Au, Dreischlatt, Gurtberg, Schuflenberg, Krinäuli, Niederberg, Kapf and Gruben.

Coat of arms

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 blazoned ''Or, two Unicorns' Heads couped addorsed Azure.'' It was introduced in 1924 (the design of the unicorns used based on a drawing by Fritz Brunner), and ratified 13 October 1925. The design is based on the coat of arms of the Iberg bailiwick of the Abbey of St. Gallen, first attested in a '' Wappenscheibe'' dated 1551 (again in 1581, 1629 and 1708).

Demographics

Wattwil has a population (as of ) of . Krinau had a population (as of 2011) of 260.Canton of St. Gallen Statistics Office
''Wohnbevölkerung (bis 2011)'' accessed 1 May 2012 , about 23.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 192 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 ...

, 335 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 ...

, 717 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 ...

, 29 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 ...

, 388 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 322 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 decreased at a rate of -2.6%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.9%), with Italian being second most common (2.9%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (2.6%).
accessed 19-January-2010 Of the Swiss national languages (), 7,182 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 ...

, 28 people speak French, 238 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 3 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in Wattwil is; 1,056 children or 12.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,155 teenagers or 14.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,001 people or 12.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,209 people or 14.6% are between 30 and 39, 1,087 people or 13.2% are between 40 and 49, and 1,015 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 766 people or 9.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 594 people or 7.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 322 people or 3.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 60 people or 0.7% who are between 90 and 99.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009 there were 1,049 persons (or 12.7% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,760 (or 21.3%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 4,632 (or 56.0%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 425 (or 5.1%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 52 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 21 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 42 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 284 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 37.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (17.5%), the FDP (15.1%) and the SP (13.5%). In Wattwil about 63.1% 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 Wattwil, , the highest education level completed by 1,999 people (24.2% 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 2,765 (33.5%) have completed their secondary education, 745 (9.0%) 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 488 (5.9%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.

Sights

The villages of Wattwil and Lichtensteig are designated as part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

. There are several notable buildings in the municipality, including a church, a former abbey, and Burg Iberg. The Neoclassical Reformed church of Wattwil was built in 1845-48 and restored in 1969. The former Capuchin abbey, St. Mary of the Angels, was built as a walled monastery. The abbey church was built in 1622. The

Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and

Lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

were rebuilt in 1780, and the entryway was built in 1893. The majority of the abbey was built in 1730-82. Burg Iberg (Castle Iberg) was built in 1240 by Heinrich von Iberg. It was damaged during the

Appenzell Wars The Appenzell Wars (german: Appenzeller Kriege) were a series of conflicts that lasted from 1401 until 1429 in the Appenzell region of modern-day Switzerland. The wars consisted of uprisings of cooperative groups, such as the farmers of Appenzell ...

in 1405 and soon thereafter rebuilt. Some of the housing was demolished in 1835, but the roof and

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

s are new.

Economy

, Wattwil had an unemployment rate of 1.75%. , there were 383 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 164 businesses involved in this sector. 1,608 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 108 businesses in this sector. 2,421 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 300 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 4.0%. There were 544 businesses in the municipality of which 108 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 282 were involved in the third. there were 2,520 residents who worked in the municipality, while 1,621 residents worked outside Wattwil and 1,937 people commuted into the municipality for work.St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters
accessed 31 December 2009

Religion

From the , 3,319 or 40.2% 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 2,879 or 34.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 2 individuals (or about 0.02% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 215 individuals (or about 2.60% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 245 individuals (or about 2.96% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who are

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 807 (or about 9.76% 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 104 individuals (or about 1.26% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 444 (or about 5.37% 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 ...

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 246 individuals (or about 2.98% of the population) did not answer the question.

Notable people

* Johann Georg Birnstiel, Swiss Reformed minister and writer

References

External links

* * Gemeind website: http://www.wattwil.ch {{Authority control Toggenburg Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen