Mels
| Mels | |
|---|---|
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| State : |
 Switzerland
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| Canton : |
 Canton of St. Gallen (SG)
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| Constituency : | Sarganserland |
| BFS no. : | 3293 |
| Postal code : | 7325 Schwendi im Weisstannental 7326 Weisstannen 8879 Pizolpark (Mels) 8886 Mädris-Vermol 8887 Mels 8888 Heiligkreuz (Mels) 8889 Plons |
| Coordinates : | 750 466 / 212538 |
| Height : | 497 m above sea level M. |
| Height range : | 455–2935 m above sea level M. |
| Area : | 139.11 km² |
| Residents: | 8623 (December 31, 2018) |
| Population density : | 62 inhabitants per km² |
| Mayor : | Guido Fischer |
| Website: | www.mels.ch |
 Mels from the west, Sargans in the background |
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| Location of the municipality | |
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Mels is a municipality in the Sarganserland constituency in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen . It is located in the Seeztal , west of the neighboring municipality of Sargans, and is the largest municipality in the canton in terms of area.
geography
Mels is located between Mount Gonzen , the Rhine and the Seez . The Pizol mountain is located in the municipality of Mels . Until the early 18th century, the settlement area of Mels was largely a swamp-like landscape. The lowest point is the Seez plane ( 457 m above sea level ) and the highest is the Big Disk ( 2936 m above sea level ).
The community includes the settlements of Heiligkreuz near Mels, Plons, Ragnatsch, as well as the hamlets of Butz, St. Martin, Mädris, Tils, the hillside settlement of Vermol and the Walser villages of Schwendi and Weisstannen in the Weisstannental .
history
The hill of Castels was settled during the Neolithic , Bronze , Iron and Roman Ages. The Nidberg castle ruins go back to the early Middle Ages . There were also finds from these epochs at Gasella, Alp Kohlschlagchläui, Rossheld, Plons, Alp Wallabütz-Matt, Ragnatsch, Heiligkreuz, Alp Palfries, Balnenwand and around the village of Mels.
In the early and high Middle Ages , the monasteries Disentis , Pfäfers , Einsiedeln and Schänis owned properties in Mels. The predecessor of the parish church of St. Peter and Paul was built around 550. There were four churches in the 9th century. In 1376 the parish church with the branches of Wangs and Vilter was incorporated into the Pfäfers monastery. In 1529 Mels was reformed; the Protestant pastor and Glarus Fridolin Brunner worked as a reformer in 1531, but he was expelled in 1532. Mels returned to the Catholic faith. In 1654 the Capuchin monastery was founded.
The rule with blood jurisdiction was exercised by the County of Sargans , while the Meier von Windegg at Nidberg Castle (1265–1437, Meierhof of the Pfäfers Monastery) had the lower jurisdiction . The rule of Nidberg was bought in 1371 by the Dukes of Austria .
In the 15th / 16th In the 19th century, Mels switched from Romansh to German. From 1483 to 1798 it belonged as part of the Sargans Bailiwick to the common rule of the Old Confederation . Mels has had a community organization since the 17th century and was the capital of the district of the same name in the canton of Linth during the Helvetic Republic . In 1814 Mels took part in the uprising of the rural democrats in the Sarganserland for more political rights.
During the Second World War , the rocky hill of Castels was expanded into one of the most important artillery fortresses of the Sargans fortress.
Art, culture, leisure
The Konkordia Mels music society, founded in 1875, is one of the oldest clubs in Mels. It is one of the largest music associations in Switzerland and has been playing in 1st class harmony without interruption since 1957. With various “subsidiary associations” such as youth music, youth games and young drum tours, it promotes young people intensively. Since 2008 she has been participating in music festivals in the parade music with evolutions and has won various victories.
The gymnastics club Mels is multiple Swiss champions in the disciplines parallel bars and floor gymnastics. The humorous acrobatic group D'Holmikers was founded in 1993 and has since participated in countless international shows. The highlight was winning the bronze clown on the occasion of the 41st Monte Carlo International Circus Festival.
In the UHC Sarganserland, a nationally known floorball club that plays in the National League B, several players from the Mels community play.
The cultural association Altes Kino Mels has been the leading provider of cabaret in all fields in the Sarganserland since 1985.
Attractions
The cultural and historical Geoweg Mels , a geo site of the Sardona Geopark , leads around and on the hill of Castel .
economy
Agriculture was predominant for a long time. In the more than 20 Mels Alps, livestock was farmed and traded, arable farming was less important. From the middle of the 18th century horses were bred for transit traffic and viticulture expanded. From the 14th to the 18th century, there were smelting works and forges for the iron ore from Gonzen in and around Mels . Millstones were dismantled on Castels for export to Germany until 1915 . The glassworks existed from 1803 to 1863. In the 19th century several textile factories (cotton weaving, spinning, weaving, dyeing) started operations. The former textile factory Stoffel stands prominently on a hill above the village. It was opened in 1878 and once employed up to 600 people for 450 looms and 43,000 spindles . In 1960 the factory was sold to America, later sold by that owner to Italy. 1997 marked the end of the factory. In 2012 scenes from the film Grüninger's files were filmed there, as the Diepoldsau refugee camp was also located in an old factory in 1938. Shortly afterwards, the area was bought by a group of investors who wanted to convert the good building fabric into apartments and studios. The site developer of the comparable Alte Spinnerei Murg site is also involved .
Shopping centers
Near the highway A3 are several large shopping centers that cover the regional needs of the Sarganserland: The Pizolpark of Migros , the Pizol Center of Coop and various other centers such as the CPB Riet. All of Switzerland's major retail chains are located in these centers. In the municipality there is also a Jumbo DIY store with a large Fust branch and, since November 2011, a large Bauhaus specialist center.
army
The Swiss Ministry of Defense operates a barracks and a recruitment center in Mels, in the Plons district , to which those required to be employed from the cantons of St. Gallen , Graubünden , Schwyz , Glarus , Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden are invited.
traffic
Mels is located on the Ziegelbrücke-Chur railway line and is served hourly in both directions by the Ziegelbrücke - Sargans - Chur regional trains. In road traffic there is a motorway triangle with the A3 and A13 , from which you can reach Chur , Zurich and St. Gallen .
Mels has a well-developed bus system with connections to Sargans and the Rhine Valley . The bus lines also run through Melser side streets.
population
| Population development | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | 1800 | 1850 | 1900 | 1950 | 1980 | 2000 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| Residents | 2433 | 3305 | 4035 | 5837 | 6235 | 7837 | 8019 | 8026 | 8080 | 8358 | 8481 | 8501 | 8513 | 8553 | 8550 | 8523 | 8557 | |
The number of residents has increased in the last few decades because Mels was increasingly industrialized. In addition, the number of businesses increased.
Religions - denominations
| Denomination | Catholic | evangelical | without or other |
| number | 72.96% | 9.43% | 17.61% |
Personalities
- Fridolin Brunner (1498–1570), Protestant pastor, worked as a reformer from 1531–1532 and was expelled
- Franz Anton Good (1793–1866), lawyer and politician
- Otto Pfister (* 1937), German football coach
- Paul Good (* 1942), philosopher ( inter alia the immorality of art )
- Josef Ackermann (* 1948), bank manager
- Ueli Ackermann (* 1957), actor and director (including Der Welthund )
- Andy Egert (* 1961), blues musician
- Doris Ackermann (* 1963), singer and songwriter
- Andy Prinz (* 1974), music producer (among others for DJ Tatana )
See also
literature
- Erwin Rothenhäusler, Dora Fanny Rittmeyer, Benedikt Frei: The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen, Volume I: Sargans District. (= Art Monuments of Switzerland. Volume 25). Edited by the Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1951. DNB 750089172 .
Web links
- Official website of the municipality of Mels
- Regula Anna Steinhauser-Zimmermann, Wolfgang Göldi: Mels. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 .
- ^ Regula Anna Steinhauser-Zimmermann, Wolfgang Göldi: Mels. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ^ Association - MG Konkordia Mels. In: www.musik-mels.ch. Retrieved July 17, 2016 .
- ↑ Altes Kino Mels 25 years old Liechtensteiner Volksblatt, article from September 21, 2010
- ↑ Altes Kino, Mels suedkultur.ch, pdf file, accessed on December 15, 2014
- ↑ New district for Mels - industrial wasteland becomes residential area , NZZ, July 27, 2016.
- ^ Numbers 1800–2000 from Regula Anna Steinhauser-Zimmermann, Wolfgang Göldi: Mels. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Mels community: information sheet. Accessed July 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Mels Online: Key Figures. Accessed July 31, 2019 .