Heiden is a municipality

Municipalities of Switzerland

Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...

 in the canton

Cantons of Switzerland

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

 of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

Appenzell Ausserrhoden

Appenzell Ausserrhoden is a canton of Switzerland. The seat of the government and parliament is Herisau, judicial authorities are in Trogen. Appenzell Ausserrhoden is located in the north east of Switzerland, bordering the cantons of St...

 in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. Its Biedermeier

Biedermeier

In Central Europe, the Biedermeier era refers to the middle-class sensibilities of the historical period between 1815, the year of the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions...

 village around the church square is listed as a heritage site of national significance

Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance

The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...

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Heiden is first mentioned in 1461 as guot genant Haiden.

Around 1650 Wolfhalden

Wolfhalden

Wolfhalden is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland.-History:Around 1650 Heiden and Wolfhalden could not agree about the control over the church. This led to the creation of a church in each village in 1652, making them independent.-Geography:Wolfhalden has an area,...

 and Heiden could not agree about the control over the church. This led to the creation of a church in each village in 1652, making them independent.

The founder of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant

Henry Dunant

Jean Henri Dunant , aka Henry Dunant, was a Swiss businessman and social activist. During a business trip in 1859, he was witness to the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in modern day Italy...

, spent his last years in Heiden.