Ganterschwil

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Canton of St. Gallen (SG)

Constituency :

Toggenburg

Political community :

Bütschwil-Ganterschwil

Postal code :

9608

former BFS no. :

3403

Coordinates :

724 188 / 249357 coordinates: 47 ° 23 '0 " N , 9 ° 5' 0" O ; CH1903: 724188 / 249357

Height :

606 m above sea level M.

Area :

8.01 km²

Residents:

1186 (December 31, 2012)

Population density :

148 inhabitants per km²

Parish church of Ganterschwil

map

Ganterschwil is a village and until December 31, 2012 was a political municipality in the Toggenburg constituency of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland . On January 1, 2013, the municipality of Ganterschwil merged with Bütschwil to form the municipality of Bütschwil-Ganterschwil .

geography

Ganterschwil lies on a plateau between the Thur and Necker rivers . Numerous individual farms and the hamlets of Äwil, Anzenwil, Bleiken, Ötschwil and Tobel belong to Ganterschwil. The community bordered Bütschwil to the west, Lütisburg to the north , Mogelsberg to the east and Oberhelfenschwil to the south . The municipal boundary was formed on three sides by the rivers Thur and Necker, Ganterschwil can only be reached from the south without crossing a bridge.

history

Ganterschwil was first mentioned in a document in 778/779. The Abbeys of St. Gallen and Magdenau as well as the Counts of Toggenburg owned real estate in Ganterschwil. In addition to their own people, members of the lower nobility, e.g. B. Wenzel von Ganterschwil in 1102. In the 15th century Ganterschwil belonged to the Bailiwick of the Counts of Toggenburg, until 1798 to the Mogelsberg court . After the Toggenburg was sold to the Abbot of St. Gallen in 1468, Ganterschwil was subordinated to the Landvogt von Lichtensteig.

The patronage right of the church originally consecrated to Mary was mentioned in 1361 and belonged to the Abbey of St. Gallen. The hermitage with chapel, founded near Ötschwil in 1375, was closed in 1865. After 1528 a Reformed parish was formed, which has since existed alongside the Catholic parish. After the construction of a Catholic church in 1939, the parish parish church was left to the Reformed. The village law, mentioned in 1621, regulated the internal order.

Aerial photo by Walter Mittelholzer from 1923

Parish before the merger in 2013

Mainly grain and oats were grown and processed in three mills. From the 18th century, contract weaving gained in importance. In Hengarten was until 1863 tuff mined. Small textile factories like those of Johann Georg Berlinger developed from family businesses . In the 19th century the cattle and dairy industry replaced the cultivation of grain. In 1992 there were two cheese factories. The private secondary school Bütschwil-Ganterschwil, founded in 1863, was transferred to the two communities in 1913. After the crisis in the textile industry from 1918 onwards, only smaller businesses could be established. In 2000 around half of the working population was employed in the service sector. The home founded in 1913 by the reformed pastor Alfred Lauchenauer for socially disadvantaged children developed into the Sonnenhof child and youth psychiatric center.

On November 27, 2011, votes on a municipal merger took place in Ganterschwil and Bütschwil . The vote was accepted in Ganterschwil with a yes share of 54%. The new community was founded on January 1, 2013 and is called Bütschwil-Ganterschwil .

population

Population development
year	1800	1834	1900	1950	2000
Residents	681	732	868	971	1111

In 2000, 603 Ganterschwiler were Catholic and 398 were Reformed.

traffic

Roads lead from Ganterschwil to the neighboring towns of Lütisburg, Bütschwil and Oberhelfenschwil. Nassen , Degersheim , Mogelsberg and Brunnadern can be reached via a road connection running parallel to the Necker . Postbus lines connect Ganterschwil every half hour with the Bütschwil train station and with Lütisburg, and with Flawil during rush hour .

economy

There are many smaller businesses in Ganterschwil that offer jobs. The best-known company is Berlinger , which was active in tape production and today plays a leading role worldwide in the production of doping control systems (forgery-proof sample glasses).

Attractions

In the parish church, under the protection of the Swiss Confederation, there are frescoes from the Middle Ages that were discovered and restored in 1941.