Wildhaus (High Alemannic: Wildhuus) is a village and former municipality in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, since 2010 by merger with Alt St. Johann part of the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann.

The reformer Huldrych Zwingli was born in Wildhaus in 1484. His birth house can still be visited.

Geography

Wildhaus has an area, , of . Of this area, 50.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (22.5%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent an Ibex Sable on a Stone proper between two Pine Trees Vert issuant from a Base of the last.

Demographics

Wildhaus has a population () of 1,209, of which about 11.1% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 20 are from Germany, 3 are from Italy, 77 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 7 are from Austria, 5 are from Turkey, and 55 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -8.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (91.8%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.4%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.8%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 1,157 speak German, 5 people speak French, 2 people speak Italian, and 3 people speak Romansh.

there were 202 persons (or 16.0% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 255 (or 20.2%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 646 (or 51.3%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 74 (or 5.9%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 17 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 4 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, and 62 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.

The ruins of the , a former castle that was originally built in 1200 by the barons of Sax and sold to the earl Friedrich IV von Toggenburg in 1313. The castle was hit by a lightning and burned down in 1660. In 2010 the restoration of the place was completed and it has become a worthy place to visit.

Economy

, Wildhaus had an unemployment rate of 1.25%. , there were 133 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 52 businesses involved in this sector. 60 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 19 businesses in this sector. 403 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 51 businesses in this sector. There were 122 businesses in the municipality of which 18 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 56 were involved in the third.

there were 466 residents who worked in the municipality, while 194 residents worked outside Wildhaus and 164 people commuted into the municipality for work.

Transport

Wildhaus is linked via a PostAuto bus line to , and railway stations. There are a gondola lift to Gamplüt (below Wildhauser Schafberg) and chair lifts to Oberdorf and Gamserrugg (the mountain east of Chäserrugg).

Religion

From the , 468 or 37.1% are Roman Catholic, while 572 or 45.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 17 individuals (or about 1.35% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 17 individuals (or about 1.35% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 49 (or about 3.89% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 3 individuals (or about 0.24% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 88 (or about 6.98% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 46 individuals (or about 3.65% of the population) did not answer the question.

See also

  • List of ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
  • Tourism in Switzerland

References

  • http://www.wildhaus.ch