Flawil


Flawil is a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland with slightly over 10,000 inhabitants.
It is the regional centre of Untertoggenburg, but belongs to the Wahlkreis 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 and the remainder is non-productive.
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 of Flawil and the hamlets of Botsberg, Alterswil, Grobenentschwil, Langenentschwil, Raschberg, Egg, Oberglatt and Burgau as well as scattered farm houses.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Chequy Argent and Gules and a Chief Or.

Demographics

Flawil has a population of. , about 26.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population,, 138 are from Germany, 516 are from Italy, 964 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 64 are from Austria, 138 are from Turkey, and 516 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.2%. Most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common and Serbo-Croatian being third. Of the Swiss national languages, 7,872 speak German, 27 people speak French, 313 people speak Italian, 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.
there were 1,198 persons who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,951 persons who were part of a couple without children, and 5,350 who were part of a couple with children. There were 491 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, the CVP and the SP.
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Flawil about 64.7% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education. Out of the total population in Flawil,, the highest education level completed by 2,070 people was Primary, while 3,308 have completed Secondary, 854 have attended a Tertiary school, and 520 are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
yearpopulation
18372,233
18502,664
18904,878
19004,873
19506,502
20009,320
201610,505

Transportation

Flawil has a train station, with half-hourly long-distance train service in the direction of Zürich and St.Gallen. The ride takes exactly one hour to Zurich and 15 minutes to St.Gallen. Additionally, there are local commuter trains.
The next access to the A1 national motorway are located in neighbouring towns Gossau and Uzwil

Heritage sites of national significance

The Old Town Council building Altes Rathaus in Burgau and the Hotel-Restaurant Hirschen Gasthof 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.

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, 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 and there are 104 businesses in this sector. 1,896 people are employed in the tertiary sector, 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.

Healthcare

Flawil has a cantonal hospital.

Religion

Major religious activity is found in the Roman-Catholic parish St.Laurentius and the Protestant church. Additionally there are numerous smaller churches, including a Methodist community.
From the, 4,295 or 46.1% are Roman Catholic, while 2,755 or 29.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 420 individuals who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 190 individuals who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals who are Jewish, and 666 who are Islamic. There are 168 individuals who belong to another church, 506 belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 315 individuals 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. 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.

Notable people