Vogtei of Gams
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Gams is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Werdenberg in the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
of St. Gallen 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

Gams is first mentioned in 835 as ''Campesias''. In 1210 it was mentioned as ''Chames'', in 1236 as ''Gamps''. Until the Middle Ages it was a Romansh village and was known in Romansh as ''Chiamp''.


Geography

Gams has an area, , of . Of this area, 59.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (3.3%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Werdenberg ''Wahlkreis'', at the foot of the Alpstein sub-range of the Appenzell Alps and on the edge of the Rhine valley. It sits at the eastern entrance into the Toggenburg as well as the footpath over the ''Saxerlücke'' to
Appenzell Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...
and St. Gallen. Additionally, it was on the most important trade route between Chur-
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 ...
-
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 ...
and was the starting point of the pilgrimage routes to
Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...
and Rankweil. It consists of the village of Gams with its surrounding settlements and the village of Gasenzen.


Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is ''Per fess Argent and Gules overall a Chamois Sable statant on Coupeaux Or.'' The
chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Ril ...
(german: Gemse) on the coat of arms is an example of false canting. The name ''Gams'' doesn't come from ''Gemse'' but from the Romansh ''Campesias'' which means "field of sheep".


Demographics

Gams has a population (as of ) of . , about 15.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 91 are from Germany, 22 are from Italy, 118 are from ex- Yugoslavia, 34 are from Austria, 8 are from Turkey, and 81 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 9.3%. Most of the population () speaks German (94.0%), with Albanian being second most common ( 1.4%) and Italian being third ( 0.8%).
accessed 19-January-2010
Of the Swiss national languages (), 2,695 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 **Ger ...
, 13 people speak
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, 22 people speak Italian, and 5 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in Gams is; 413 children or 14.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 480 teenagers or 16.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 316 people or 11.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 443 people or 15.5% are between 30 and 39, 450 people or 15.7% are between 40 and 49, and 300 people or 10.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 217 people or 7.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 163 people or 5.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 80 people or 2.8% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 5 people or 0.2% who are between 90 and 99.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009
there were 262 persons (or 9.1% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 475 (or 16.6%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 1,815 (or 63.3%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 121 (or 4.2%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 29 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 18 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 14 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 133 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. 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 most popular party was the SVP which received 35.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (28.8%), the FDP (13.5%) and the SP (12.3%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gams about 68.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory
upper secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...
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 Gams, , the highest education level completed by 621 people (21.7% 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 974 (34.0%) have completed
Secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
, 273 (9.5%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 88 (3.1%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question. The historical population is given in the following table:


Economy

, Gams had an unemployment rate of 0.76%. , there were 230 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 85 businesses involved in this sector. 383 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 41 businesses in this sector. 393 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 86 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 2.6%. There were 208 businesses in the municipality of which 39 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 88 were involved in the third. there were 571 residents who worked in the municipality, while 834 residents worked outside Gams and 323 people commuted into the municipality for work.St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters
accessed 31 December 2009


Religion

From the , 1,811 or 63.2% are Roman Catholic, while 649 or 22.6% 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 27 individuals (or about 0.94% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 44 individuals (or about 1.53% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 110 (or about 3.84% 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 7 individuals (or about 0.24% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 130 (or about 4.53% 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 89 individuals (or about 3.10% of the population) did not answer the question.


References


External links


Official website
* {{Authority control Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen