Appenzell (village)
Appenzell is a village, a town, but not a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in Switzerland. Appenzell has no municipal government of its own; rather, the different parts of Appenzell belong to and are governed by the districts Appenzell, Schwende and Rüte. Because of that, for firefighting, energy and water, the village Appenzell has a special-purpose municipality, the Feuerschaugemeinde.
In 1071 the village was referred to as Abbacella. By 1223 this changed to Abbatiscella, meaning the Abbot's cell. This refers to the abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall.
The official language of Appenzell is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.
in the background
The buildings in the village core, the parish church, the 1563 town hall, the Salesis house, the ruins of Castle Clanx and the state archives with the administration building are listed as heritage sites of national significance.
