Rhode (Switzerland)

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Municipality in Switzerland

A Rhode was and is partly still today the subdivision of a village in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley , in Toggenburg and in what would later become the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden .

Word history

The word Rhode (the spelling with "h" is pseudo-historical; cf. for example "Rätien" versus "Rhaetian Railway") has its origin in the Latin rota "wheel, sequence". This was used widely in eastern Switzerland , Austria and Bavaria to designate sweeping regulations, according to which the offices were to be appointed and the members of cooperatives and corporations had to do a variety of tasks in common, alpine and transport. This meaning is still alive today in Eastern Swiss dialects, so it is said here and there uf d Rood gòò, a der Rood sy “it's your turn to do a job”.

In parts of north-eastern Switzerland, however, the term was transferred to the community itself at an early stage. Not only do the two Appenzell cantons have the word in their name, but the local community of Altstätten , located in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, is still divided into nine Rhodes ( local civil corporations ).

The Rhodes in Appenzellerland

The organization of the Land of Appenzell in Rhoden goes back to the 13th century. Originally appointed by the abbot, later elected by the residents, Rhod captains were responsible for the administration of the Rhodes (primarily taxes and military affairs ). Soon the residents forced a kind of co-operative self-administration.

In the late Middle Ages, the offices of Trogen and Appenzell were divided into six Rhodes each.

Trogen Office :

  • Schneiter / Schwender Rhode
  • Füglisegger Rhode
  • Red Rhode
  • Rotenwieser Rhode
  • Trogener Rhode
  • Tablater Rhode

Appenzell Office :

Little is known about the Rhodes in the rest of the canton.

In the later Ausserrhoden the six Rhodes were formed until the 16th century, from which today's Ausserrhoden communities emerged; the former Rhoden borders run largely on today's municipal boundaries. The rhodes in the later Innerrhoden remained unchanged.

When the land was divided in 1597, some of the Rhoden boundaries on the newly formed cantonal border were also shifted, and reduced Rhodes became half-testes. For example, Gais went from the Rhode Rinkenbach (which became Halbrhode) to the Rotenwieser Rhode.

Appenzell Ausserrhoden

In Appenzell Ausserrhoden, when the land was divided in 1597 , the Rhodes were transferred to communities of the same name:

Smaller churches were later split off from all parishes except Gais when their own churches were built.

See also: Municipalities of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

Appenzell Innerrhoden

In Appenzell Innerrhoden, the revision of the cantonal constitution of 1872 resulted in the conversion of the Rhodes into districts . However, formal meetings of the Rhodes still take place following the assembly of the rural community .

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