Urnäsch is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland.

History

thumb|left|Aerial view from 200 m by [[Walter Mittelholzer (1922)]]

In 831 AD a part of Urnäsch known as Färchen was first mentioned. In the 10th century, Urnäsch was part of the administrative district Herisau. From the 14th century onwards, Urnäsch was part of the Rhode Hundwil, and thus part of the bailiwick of St. Gallen. The first official mentioning of the municipality's entirety as “Urnäschen” occurred in 1344, when the village was sold to the German Earl Werdenberg, although the municipality already had a strong and independent agenda. It became part of the Schwäbischer Städtebund in the same year as the so-called Lendlyn, which further reaffirmed their independent position. In 1401, Urnäsch joined the Bund together with St. Gallen. At that time, Urnäsch was still a part of the Rhode Hundwil. From 1401 to 1429, Urnäsch was on the forefront of the Appenzell wars. After the battles in Vögelinsegg (1403) and Stoss (1405) the land gained independence as part of Appenzell.

Until 1414, Urnäsch’s population had to go to church in the faraway municipality of Herisau. In the same year, a new church was built in Urnäsch and thereby the municipality obtained its independence in 1417 when the church was inaugurated. In 1480, Hundwil and Urnäsch split. In 1525, Urnäsch joined the reformation. Since the Landteilung in 1597, Urnäsch has been part of Appenzell Ausserrhoden as one of the six outermost Rhoden and was regularly the meeting place of the Kleiner Rat.

Since the second half of the 19th century, the separation of church and state became more common, until the Swiss constitution of 1908 declared them to be fully separated from each other. Interestingly, the Urnäsch’s constitution only removed the term “Kirchhöri” as its description, which includes both church and government, in the year 2000.

Geography

thumb|left|View from the Kronberg over Urnäsch and [[Hundwil.]]

Urnäsch has an area, , of . Of this area, 53.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 41.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -3%. Most of the population () speaks German (93.0%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 2.3%) and Italian being third ( 1.0%). , the gender distribution of the population was 50.6% male and 49.4% female.

In the 2007 federal election the FDP received 70.6% of the vote.

Weather

Urnäsch has an average of 161.6 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Urnäsch receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 15.5 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 15.8, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is October with an average of of precipitation over 15.5 days.

Economy

Urnäsch has an unemployment rate of 1.33%. , there were 215 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 96 businesses involved in this sector. 246 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 28 businesses in this sector. 496 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 79 businesses in this sector.

References

  • Official Page (German)