German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in western, central and southern Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The sovereign state is a federal republic bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva.
A municipality is usually a single urban administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. It is to be distinguished (usually) from the county, which may encompass rural territory or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets.
Under the influence of the French revolution of July 1830, people of the canton of St. Gallen forced a new, more liberal constitution, its third since its installation by Napoleon's (act of mediation) in 1803. A constitution council prepared it, and included, among many other changes, a reformation of the administration by introducing 14 districts.
Napoléon Bonaparte was a French statesman and military leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again briefly in 1815 during the Hundred Days. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a large empire that ruled over continental Europe before its final collapse in 1815. He is considered one of the greatest commanders in history, and his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy has endured as one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders in human history.
In a plebiscite in March 1831, it was accepted comfortably, but lacked democratic legitimation as votes of people who did not attend had been added to those of the supporters.
The district system worked well for the following decades, but administration changes steadily eroded the importance of the districts. So, when the canton of St. Gallen got its sixth constitution in 2001 (after 110 years, at that), they were replaced by eight constituencies. Considering, among others, demographics, people's geographical orientation, and efficiency of administration, these new electoral districts include not necessarily the same communities as the 14 former districts. In the former district of St. Gallen (now Wahlkreis St. Gallen), they do but five more municipalities were included: Andwil, Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau and Waldkirch.
St. Gallen is a constituency (Wahlkreis) in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Wahlkreis has been established on June 10, 2001 with an area of 157.54 km2 (60.83 sq mi). The Wahlkreis takes its name from the city of St. Gallen.
Andwil is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of St. Gallen in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Eggersriet is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of St. Gallen in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
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The canton of Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centered on and named after the town of Schwyz.
Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen states. Since today's Germany was formed from an earlier collection of several states, it has a federal constitution, and the constituent states retain a measure of sovereignty.
With an emphasis on geographical conditions, Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called Stadtstaaten (city-states), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which in fact includes the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer.
The canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest by area, with canton of Basel-City being the smallest. It was the last Swiss canton to grant women the right to vote on local issues, in 1991.
The canton of 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. Gallen and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall, is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen.
The canton of Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland.
Municipalities are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons, which form the Swiss Confederation. In most cantons municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions.
The University of St. Gallen is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Established in 1898, it specialises in the fields of business administration, economics, law, and international affairs. The University of St. Gallen is also known as HSG, which is an abbreviation of its former German name Handels-Hochschule St. Gallen. In the fall of 2016, the University of St. Gallen had 8,337 students, of which 3,097 were master's students and 675 were doctoral students. According to international rankings the University of St. Gallen is considered to be among the leading business schools globally.The University of St. Gallen is also known for its high number of billionaire alumni.
In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each canton is
completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed districts.
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.
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights, delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government.
The Swiss Confederation comprises the 26 cantons of Switzerland.
The periods of Restoration and Regeneration in Swiss history last from 1814 to 1847. "Restoration" refers to the period of 1814 to 1830, the restoration of the Ancien Régime (federalism), reverting the changes imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte on the centralist Helvetic Republic from 1798 and the partial reversion to the old system with the Act of Mediation of 1803. "Regeneration" refers to the period of 1830 to 1848, when in the wake of the July Revolution the "restored" Ancien Régime was countered by the liberal movement. In the Protestant cantons, the rural population enforced liberal cantonal constitutions, partly in armed marches on the cities.
This resulted in a conservative backlash in the Catholic cantons in the 1830s, raising the conflict to the point of civil war by 1847.
Eschenbach is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Goldingen and St. Gallenkappel merged into the municipality of Eschenbach.
St. Gallenkappel is a former municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Goldingen and St. Gallenkappel merged into the municipality of Eschenbach.
See-Gaster is a constituency (Wahlkreis) in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Wahlkreis has been established on June 10, 2001 with an area of 246.16 km2 (95.04 sq mi).
Christianity is the predominant religion of Switzerland, its presence going back to the Roman era. Since the 16th century, Switzerland has been traditionally divided into Roman Catholic and Reformed confessions.
However, adherence to Christian churches has declined considerably since the late 20th century, from close to 94% in 1980 to about 66% as of 2017. Furthermore notable is the significant difference in church adherence between Swiss citizens (71%) and foreign nationals (50%) in 2017.
Altach is a municipality in Feldkirch district in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.
The Wahlkreis Rheintal is a constituency (Wahlkreis) of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, formed under the new constitution of the canton on 10 June 2001. It consists largely of the former districts of Oberrheintal and Unterrheintal.
