Canton of St. Gallen (original) (raw)

Canton of St. Gallen
Flag of the canton
Capital: St. Gallen
Abbr.: SG
Joined: 1803
Population: 455,200
Area: 2,026 km²
Language: German

St. Gallen (German: Sankt Gallen; French: Saint-Gall) is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. The area is 2,026 square kilometres and population as of 2002 455,200. The capital is St. Gallen. There are alternative spellings for the canton: St. Gall, Saint Gall, Saint Gallen.

Districts

The canton is subdivided in districts:

Cities and towns

Cities (with more than 10,000 inhabitants):

Other sigificant places:

Geography

The canton is located in the north east of Switzerland. It is bounded to the north by

Lake Constance (Bodensee). To the east lies the Rhine valley. Over the Rhine is Austria and Liechtenstein. To the south, the canton of St. Gallen is bounded by the cantons of Graub�nden, Glarus and Schwyz. To the west lie the cantons of Z�rich and Thurgau.

The two half cantons Appenzell Inerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden are completely surrounded by lands of the canton of St. Gallen.

The main rivers of the canton are the Rhine, Thur, Linth and Seez. The topography changes from the plains near river Rhine and Lake Constance towards the mountainous areas in the south. About one quarter of the land is covered in forests and more than half consists of Alpine pastures.

History

The lands of the canton St. Gallen represent aquisitions of the abbey of St. Gallen over centuries. The canton of St. Gallen was part of the canton S�ntis during the Helvetic Republic. This was only possible after secularizing the abbey in 1798. In 1803 the area joined the Swiss Confederation as canton St. Gallen. The constitution was established in 1890.

Economy

Agricultural activity consists predominantly of dairy farming and cattle breeding in the mountainous areas. In the plains fruit and wine production are important, but there is also mixed farming.

Industries of the canton include optical goods, pyrotechnics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Tourism plays an important role in the many resorts. There is a thermal spa in Bad Ragaz and a great number of winter sports facilities.