Thal, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Thal is a municipality
in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Rorschach
in the canton
of St. Gallen in Switzerland
.
The 1983 UCI Road World Championships
(cycling) took place in Altenrhein, a village in the municipality.
The municipality was part of the Unterrheintal District
, but in 2004 became part of the Rorschach Wahlkreis. It is located between the Appenzell foothills, the Buchberg and Lake Constance
. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Thal and (since 1803) the villages of Altenrhein, Buechen, Buriet, Staad and a number of scattered hamlets
.
In the North and East, the municipality borders the old bed of the Rhine river (Alter Rhein
) and Austria
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Argent a Grape Azure slipped embowed and leaved Vert.
, 188 are from Italy
, 417 are from ex-Yugoslavia
, 93 are from Austria, 42 are from Turkey
, and 181 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 5.5%. Most of the population speaks German (91.3%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.0%) and Italian being third ( 1.8%). Of the Swiss national languages , 5,475 speak German
, 23 people speak French
, 110 people speak Italian
, and 9 people speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Thal is; 803 children or 13.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 798 teenagers or 13.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 682 people or 11.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 986 people or 16.4% are between 30 and 39, 906 people or 15.1% are between 40 and 49, and 734 people or 12.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 524 people or 8.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 315 people or 5.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 210 people or 3.5% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 37 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99, and 1 person who is 100 or more.
there were 707 persons (or 11.8% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,350 (or 22.5%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 3,345 (or 55.8%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 319 (or 5.3%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 30 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 12 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 29 who lived household made up of unrelated persons,and 204 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 41.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(16.1%), the SP
(14.2%) and the FDP
(12.1%).
In Thal about 72.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
). Out of the total population in Thal, , the highest education level completed by 1,150 people (19.2% of the population) was Primary, while 2,324 (38.8%) have completed their secondary education, 663 (11.1%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 220 (3.7%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
the average unemployment rate was 4.9%. There were 371 businesses in the municipality of which 98 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 246 were involved in the third.
there were 1,139 residents who worked in the municipality, while 2,004 residents worked outside Thal and 2,074 people commuted into the municipality for work.
. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic
faith, there are 106 individuals (or about 1.77% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 190 individuals (or about 3.17% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.07% of the population) who are Jewish
, and 296 (or about 4.94% of the population) who are Islam
ic. There are 21 individuals (or about 0.35% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 455 (or about 7.59% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 163 individuals (or about 2.72% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The Schlosslandschaft is shared between Berg
, Goldach
, Mörschwil
, Rheineck
, Rorschacherberg
, St. Margrethen
, Steinach
, Thal and Tübach
.
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 Wahlkreis (constituency) of Rorschach
Rorschach (Wahlkreis)
Rorschach is a constituency in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wahlkreis has been established on June 10, 2001, totalling 40,454 inhabitants on an area of 50.37 km². Rorschach is the capital of the Wahlkreis....
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 St. Gallen 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....
.
History
Thal is first mentioned in 1163 as curtis tale.The 1983 UCI Road World Championships
UCI Road World Championships
The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale...
(cycling) took place in Altenrhein, a village in the municipality.
Geography
Thal has an area, , of 9.6 km² (3.7 sq mi). Of this area, 44% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 35.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (7.2%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).The municipality was part of the Unterrheintal District
Unterrheintal District
Unterrheintal District is a former district of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland....
, but in 2004 became part of the Rorschach Wahlkreis. It is located between the Appenzell foothills, the Buchberg and Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Thal and (since 1803) the villages of Altenrhein, Buechen, Buriet, Staad and a number of scattered hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
.
In the North and East, the municipality borders the old bed of the Rhine river (Alter Rhein
Alter Rhein
The Alter Rhein is the old river bed of the Alpine Rhine in St. Gallen and Vorarlberg in the Rhine Valley, which was cut off when the Rhine was straightened during the 20th century. These cut-off arms have become valuable recreational areas and a nature reserve.In 1900, the short-cut at Fussach...
) and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Argent a Grape Azure slipped embowed and leaved Vert.
Demographics
Thal has a population (as of ) of . , about 18.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, , 112 are from GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 188 are from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, 417 are from ex-Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, 93 are from Austria, 42 are from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and 181 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 5.5%. Most of the population speaks German (91.3%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.0%) and Italian being third ( 1.8%). Of the Swiss national languages , 5,475 speak German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, 23 people speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, 110 people speak Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and 9 people speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Thal is; 803 children or 13.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 798 teenagers or 13.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 682 people or 11.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 986 people or 16.4% are between 30 and 39, 906 people or 15.1% are between 40 and 49, and 734 people or 12.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 524 people or 8.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 315 people or 5.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 210 people or 3.5% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 37 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99, and 1 person who is 100 or more.
there were 707 persons (or 11.8% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,350 (or 22.5%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 3,345 (or 55.8%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 319 (or 5.3%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 30 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 12 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 29 who lived household made up of unrelated persons,and 204 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.
In the 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
which received 41.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
(16.1%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(14.2%) and the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(12.1%).
In Thal about 72.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Out of the total population in Thal, , the highest education level completed by 1,150 people (19.2% of the population) was Primary, while 2,324 (38.8%) have completed their secondary education, 663 (11.1%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 220 (3.7%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1850 | 2,748 |
| 1900 | 3,546 |
| 1910 | 3,888 |
| 1930 | 3,625 |
| 1950 | 4,025 |
| 1970 | 4,919 |
| 1990 | 5,399 |
Economy
, Thal had an unemployment rate of 2.27%. , there were 95 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 31 businesses involved in this sector. 1,717 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 101 businesses in this sector. 1,327 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 226 businesses in this sector.the average unemployment rate was 4.9%. There were 371 businesses in the municipality of which 98 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 246 were involved in the third.
there were 1,139 residents who worked in the municipality, while 2,004 residents worked outside Thal and 2,074 people commuted into the municipality for work.
Religion
From the , 2,539 or 42.3% are Roman Catholic, while 2,221 or 37.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
faith, there are 106 individuals (or about 1.77% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 190 individuals (or about 3.17% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.07% of the population) who are Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 296 (or about 4.94% of the population) who are Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There are 21 individuals (or about 0.35% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 455 (or about 7.59% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 163 individuals (or about 2.72% of the population) did not answer the question.
Sights
The Schlosslandschaft Rorschach / Alter Rhein, a number of castles in a region along the Rhine river, is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites 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 Schlosslandschaft is shared between Berg
Berg, St. Gallen
Berg is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Berg is first mentioned in 796 as ad Berga. In 837 it was mentioned as in villa nominata Perc.-Geography:...
, Goldach
Goldach
Goldach is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Goldach is first mentioned in 789 as Goldaha, though this comes from a later copy of the original document. In 847 it was mentioned as Coldaun.-Geography:Goldach has an area, , of...
, Mörschwil
Mörschwil
Mörschwil is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Mörschwil is first mentioned in 811 as Maurini vilare. In 1389 it was mentioned as Mörswile.-Geography:...
, Rheineck
Rheineck
Rheineck is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as castellum Rinegge. In 1218 it was mentioned as Rinegg...
, Rorschacherberg
Rorschacherberg
Rorschacherberg is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:While some of the hamlets that make up Rorschacherberg are mentioned in the 13th and 14th Centuries. The region known as Roschacherberg is first mentioned in the 15th...
, St. Margrethen
St. Margrethen
St. Margrethen is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:...
, Steinach
Steinach, St. Gallen
Steinach is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Steinach has an area, , of . Of this area, 63.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.9% is forested...
, Thal and Tübach
Tübach
Tübach is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Tübach has an area, , of . Of this area, 60.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.7% is forested...
.
External links
- http://www.thal.ch