Sargans | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Sargans  | |
  Sargans  Sargans | |
| Coordinates:47°02′N9°26′E / 47.033°N 9.433°E /47.033; 9.433 | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | St. Gallen |
| District | Wahlkreis Sarganserland |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jörg Tanner |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.48 km2 (3.66 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 480 m (1,570 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018)[2] | |
• Total | 6,134 |
| • Density | 650/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 7320 |
| SFOS number | 3296 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-SG |
| Surrounded by | Balzers (LI),Fläsch (GR),Mels,Vilters-Wangs,Wartau |
| Website | sargans SFSO statistics |
Sargans is amunicipality in theWahlkreis (constituency) ofSarganserland in thecanton ofSt. Gallen inSwitzerland.
Sargans is known for itscastle, which dates from before the founding of theSwiss Confederation in 1291. Sargans was also aCounty of theHoly Roman Empire;seeCounty of Sargans.
There are traces of Neolithic settlement in the area. A significant Roman-era estate was destroyed by anAlamannic incursion inc. 270.Sargans remained part ofLower Raetia in the early medieval period, with gradual displacement ofRumantsch by Alemannic speakers during the high medieval period.A church dedicated toSaint Cassian is mentioned in the 9th century. Sargans was part of the territory of the county ofWerdenberg from the 12th century, with a separate line ofWerdenberg-Sargans established in the later 13th century. Thecastle was presumably first built in the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1282. The town of Sargans grew around the castle in the 13th century.
Sargans is mentioned asSenegaunis in the 11th century. An earlier mention asde Senegaune, ostensibly dated to 765, survives in a 16th-century copy.In 1248 it was mentioned asSanegans, in 1264 asSangans and in 1332 asSantgans. The modern spelling dates to the 16th century.[3]The etymology of the name is unknown;San- seems to have changed toSar- under the influence of the hydronymSaar. A popular etymology connecting the nameSargans to "goose" (GermanGans) may date to as early as the 15th century.[4]
From 1406, a combined fortification of the town and the castle was built.In 1445, the town, but not the castle, was captured and burned by the Swiss Confederacy.The town was given limited rights of self-government in 1456 when the count agreed to select aSchultheiss out of a list of three candidates to be submitted by the burghers. In 1483, count Jürg of Werdenberg-Sargans was forced to sell the county to the Swiss Confederacy for 15,000Rhenish guilder. From this time until 1798, the castle was the seat of the Swiss reeves. The town burned down again in 1490.In 1501, the Swiss Confederacy confirmed the city rights of Sargans and granted the right for a weekly market.
The municipal coat of arms goes back to the 15th century.[5]It iscanting, showing a goose based on the folk etymology for the nameSargans. The historical coat of arms of thecounty of Sargans wasazure threemullets or.
In 1798, Sargans became part of theMels district of theCanton of Linth in theHelvetic Republic. It was incorporated into theCanton of St. Gallen in 1803.Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1811.
Sargans is at the juncture of the railway lines connectingChur withZürich and withLake Constance, built in 1859. The line toVienna was added in 1884.The Saar was firstcanalised in 1858 for the construction of the railway station and again in 1978 for the construction of theA3-A13 motorway junction.Sargans remained mostly unaffected by industrialisation; theGonzen iron ore mine was closed down in 1966.
Sargans has an area, as of 2006[update], of 9.5 km2 (3.7 sq mi). Of this area, 38.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (6.2%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).[6]
The municipality is the capital of the SarganserlandWahlkreis. It is located at the foot of the MtGonzen. The eastern border of the municipality is theRhine river andLiechtenstein. As it is located at the intersection of the Rhine and Seez valleys, Sargans has long been important in both a strategic and commercial sense. It consists of the village of Sargans and thehamlets of Vild, Ratell, Prod, Splee, Riet, Farb, Töbeli and Schwefelbad.
The municipality is located on theA3 motorway. Sargans is an important regional transportation node. Trains heading north towardSt. Gallen, east towardChur andTicino, and towardAustria, all pass through Sargans. Buses heading toward Liechtenstein also leave Sargans.
Sargans has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 6,213.[7] As of 2007[update], about 22.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000[update]), 34 are fromGermany, 126 are fromItaly, 432 are from formerYugoslavia, 38 are from Austria, 50 are fromTurkey, and 228 are from other countries.[8] Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 7.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (87.0%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 3.2%) and Italian being third ( 2.1%).[6] Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000[update]), 4,146 speakGerman, 18 people speakFrench, 102 people speakItalian, and 22 people speak Romansh.[9]
The age distribution, as of 2000[update], in Sargans is; 522 children or 11.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 592 teenagers or 12.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 594 people or 12.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 749 people or 15.7% are between 30 and 39, 738 people or 15.5% are between 40 and 49, and 610 people or 12.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 456 people or 9.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 339 people or 7.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 139 people or 2.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 26 people or 0.5% who are between 90 and 99.[9]
In 2000[update] there were 654 persons (or 13.7% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,108 (or 23.3%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 2,555 (or 53.6%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 267 (or 5.6%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 27 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 25 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 19 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 110 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.[9]
In the2007 federal election the most popular party was theSVP which received 35.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were theCVP (21.7%), theSP (19.4%) and theFDP (13.5%).[6]
In Sargans about 68.8% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatoryupper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or aFachhochschule).[6] Out of the total population in Sargans, as of 2000[update], the highest education level completed by 1,079 people (22.6% of the population) wasPrimary, while 1,870 (39.2%) have completed their secondary education, 477 (10.0%) have attended aTertiary school, and 236 (5.0%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.[9]
The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1800 | 680 |
| 1850 | 907 |
| 1900 | 931 |
| 1950 | 2,075 |
| 1960 | 2,571 |
| 1970 | 4,058 |
| 2000 | 4,765 |
From the 2000 census[update], 3,001 or 63.0% areRoman Catholic, while 843 or 17.7% belonged to theSwiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 4 individuals (or about 0.08% of the population) who belong to theChristian Catholic faith, there are 132 individuals (or about 2.77% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 53 individuals (or about 1.11% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.08% of the population) who areJewish, and 265 (or about 5.56% of the population) who areIslamic. There are 75 individuals (or about 1.57% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 218 (or about 4.58% of the population) belong to no church, areagnostic oratheist, and 170 individuals (or about 3.57% of the population) did not answer the question.[9]
As of 2007[update], Sargans had an unemployment rate of 1.75%. As of 2005[update], there were 79 people employed in theprimary economic sector and about 29 businesses involved in this sector. 1,171 people are employed in thesecondary sector and there are 58 businesses in this sector. 1,791 people are employed in thetertiary sector, with 218 businesses in this sector.[6]
As of October 2009[update] the average unemployment rate was 3.9%.[10] There were 310 businesses in the municipality of which 57 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 227 were involved in the third.[11]
As of 2000[update] there were 994 residents who worked in the municipality, while 1,493 residents worked outside Sargans and 1,893 people commuted into the municipality for work.[12]
Both the local mining operation andSchloss Sargans are listed as Swissheritage sites of national significance.[13]
Sargans has an average of 142.2 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1,325 mm (52.2 in) ofprecipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Sargans receives an average of 153 mm (6.0 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 14.3 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 14.5, but with only 136 mm (5.4 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is October with an average of 82 mm (3.2 in) of precipitation over 14.3 days.[14]
Municipalities inSarganserland district, Switzerland | ||
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