Flawil
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Flawil is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...
of St. Gallen in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
with slightly over 10,000 inhabitants. It is the regional centre of Untertoggenburg, but belongs to the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil.


History

Flawil is first mentioned in 858 as ''Flawilare marcho''. Several of the surrounding hamlets were also mentioned in about the same era. Alterswil was first mentioned in 858 as ''Altiricheswilae'', Oberglatt in 731 as ''villa Clata'' and in 1316 as ''Obren Glat'' and Burgau in 964 as ''Purchouva''.


Geography

Flawil has an area, , of . Of this area, 53.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.3%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Wil ''Wahlkreis.'' It was the capital of the earlier ''Bezirk''. To the north-east it is bordered by the Wissbach valley and the Glatt river. It consists of the extended
linear village In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a ''polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x)= ...
of Flawil and the
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
of Botsberg, Alterswil, Grobenentschwil, Langenentschwil, Raschberg, Egg, Oberglatt and Burgau as well as scattered farm houses.


Coat of arms

The
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the municipal
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Chequy Argent and Gules and a Chief Or.''


Demographics

Flawil has a population (as of ) of . , about 26.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 138 are from
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 516 are from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 964 are from ex-
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, 64 are from
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, 138 are from
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and 516 are from another country.Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen - Ausgabe 2009
accessed 30 December 2009
Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.2%. Most of the population () speaks German (84.5%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.4%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 3.4%).
accessed 20-January-2010
Of the Swiss national languages (), 7,872 speak
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 27 people speak
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
, 313 people speak
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, and 10 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in Flawil is; 1,216 children or 13.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,248 teenagers or 13.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,209 people or 13.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,514 people or 16.2% are between 30 and 39, 1,279 people or 13.7% are between 40 and 49, and 1,127 people or 12.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 790 people or 8.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 548 people or 5.9% are between 70 and 79, there are 333 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 56 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009
there were 1,198 persons (or 12.9% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,951 (or 20.9%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 5,350 (or 57.4%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 491 (or 5.3%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 55 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 43 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 51 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 181 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 31.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (19.9%), the CVP (16.6%) and the SP (15%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Flawil about 64.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory
upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
or additional higher education (either university or a ''
Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). Out of the total population in Flawil, , the highest education level completed by 2,070 people (22.2% of the population) was
Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
, while 3,308 (35.5%) have completed Secondary, 854 (9.2%) have attended a
Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
school, and 520 (5.6%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question. The historical population is given in the following table:


Transportation

Flawil has a train station, with half-hourly long-distance
train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
service in the direction of
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
and St.Gallen. The ride takes exactly one hour to Zurich and 15 minutes to St.Gallen (as of 2008). Additionally, there are local
commuter train Commuter rail or suburban rail is a passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled tr ...
s. The next access to the A1 national motorway are located in neighbouring towns Gossau and
Uzwil Uzwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Uzwil was first mentioned in 819 as ''Uzzinwilare''. The village of Henau was first mentioned 754 as ''Villa Aninauva'' at th ...


Heritage sites of national significance

The Old Town Council building in Burgau and the Hotel-Restaurant ''Hirschen'' in Oberglatt are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The hamlets of Burgau, Raaschberg and Oberglatt are designated as part of the
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...
.


Economy

The local economy used to be strongly based on industry, which has been declining, however. It is particularly known for the production of
Swiss chocolate Swiss chocolate (; ; ) is chocolate produced in Switzerland. Switzerland's chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality with many famous international chocolate brands. Switzerland is particularly renowned for its milk cho ...
, in particular the Maestrani, Munz and Minor brands. Further industrial firms include FLAWA AG, producing cotton wool products and bandage material, SFS intec AG, specialised in deep drawing and impact extrusion, and BÜCHI Laboratory Equipment. , Flawil had an unemployment rate of 2.69%. , there were 113 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 44 businesses involved in this sector. 1,705 people are employed in the
secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there are 104 businesses in this sector. 1,896 people are employed in the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
, with 276 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 4.7%. There were 428 businesses in the municipality of which 111 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 278 were involved in the third. there were 2,199 residents who worked in the municipality, while 2,571 residents worked outside Flawil and 1,648 people commuted into the municipality for work.St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters
accessed 31 December 2009


Healthcare

Flawil has a cantonal hospital.


Religion

Major religious activity is found in the
Roman-Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
St.Laurentius and the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
church. Additionally there are numerous smaller churches, including a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
community. From the , 4,295 or 46.1% are
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, while 2,755 or 29.6% belonged to the
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 420 individuals (or about 4.51% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 190 individuals (or about 2.04% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who are
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 666 (or about 7.15% of the population) who are
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic. There are 168 individuals (or about 1.80% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 506 (or about 5.43% of the population) belong to no church, are
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
or
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 315 individuals (or about 3.38% of the population) did not answer the question.


Weather

Flawil has an average of 146.8 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
. The wettest month is August during which time Flawil receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.3 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 14.2, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is October with an average of of precipitation over 13.3 days., the weather station elevation is 572 meters above sea level.


Notable people

* Anton Weibel (1941), a Swiss former footballer, 13 caps for the Switzerland national team *
Jost Gross Jost Gross (1 March 1946 – 6 May 2005) was a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party. From 1995 to his death he had a seat in the National Council. Gross was born in Flawil, Switzerland. He was educated as a lawyer and taught at th ...
(1946–2005), a lawyer and Swiss politician, sat on the Swiss National Council *
Balthasar Bickel Balthasar Bickel (born December 19, 1965) is a Swiss linguist. He combines fieldwork, typology, and evolutionary modelling and uses both experimental and observational methods. He is currently a professor at the Department of Comparative Language ...
(born 1965), a Swiss linguist at the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, specializing in
linguistic typology Linguistic typology (or language typology) is a field of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features to allow their comparison. Its aim is to describe and explain the structural diversity and the co ...
and
Tibeto-Burman languages The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spe ...
*
Mathias Seger Mathias Seger (born 17 December 1977) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). Seger began his professional career with SC Rapperswil-Jo ...
(born 1977), a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman *
Manuela Zehnder Manuela Zehnder (born 8 May 1983 in Aadorf) is a professional squash player who represented Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to ...
(born 1983), a former professional squash player, lives in Flawil * Thomas Schmid (born 1995), a Swiss rally driver *
Gino Mäder Gino Mäder (; 4 January 1997 – 16 June 2023) was a Swiss road and track cyclist. He last rode for UCI WorldTeam . Mäder died as a result of an accident during the 2023 Tour de Suisse. Early life and education Gino Mäder was born on 4 Jan ...
(1997–2023), road and track cyclist *
Belinda Bencic Belinda Bencic (; born 10 March 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 4 which she achieved in February 2020. Bencic has won nine career singles titles, including Tennis at the 2020 ...
(born 1997 in Flawil), a Swiss professional tennis player


References


External links


Official website
* {{Authority control Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen