Teufen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden

Teufen is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland.

History

Countryside of Teufen

Teufen (Tiuffen) was first mentioned in 1272. By 1300 the place consisted of only five farms. In 1525 the assembly ruled that each parish could decide whether or not to remain Catholic. This led to the division of Appenzell in 1597. While the town of Teufen adopted the new protestant faith, Wonnenstein Friary remained Roman Catholic. In 1870 the Friary grounds were declared an exclave of Appenzell Innerrhoden.<ref name=HDS_friary>Template:HDS</ref>

In 1841 Teufen offered their new school building as a present to attract the government of the canton. The assembly refused the present.

Weaving was important in Teufen. Around 1820 a new loom was invented in Teufen, allowing embroidery in one go. This led to a boom in embroidery, particularly between 1880 and 1890. Template:Clear left

Heritage sites of national significance

The Gmündertobel Bridge (shared with Stein, Appenzell), and the Wattbach Bridge (shared with Stein and St. Gallen) are listed as heritage sites of national significance.<ref>Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance Template:Webarchive 21.11.2008 version, Template:In lang accessed 17-Sep-2009</ref>

Geography

Aerial view from Template:Cvt by Walter Mittelholzer (1923)

Template:As of, Teufen has an area of Template:Convert. Of this area, 55.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 14% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).<ref name=SFSO/>

Wonnenstein Friary in Teufen is an exclave of Appenzell Innerrhoden.

Weather

Teufen has an average of 154.2 days of rain per year and on average receives Template:Convert of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Teufen receives an average of Template:Convert of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 15.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 15.2, but with only Template:Convert of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of Template:Convert of precipitation over 15.1 days.<ref name=MeteoSchweiz>Template:Cite web, the weather station elevation is 835 meters above sea level.</ref>

Demographics

Teufen has a population (Template:As of) of 5,766, of which about 10.0% are foreign nationals.<ref name=Kurzstats>Brief Statistics for the half-canton Template:Webarchive Template:In lang accessed 15 September 2009</ref> Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.8%. Most of the population (Template:As of) speaks German (93.4%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.3%) and Spanish being third ( 0.9%).<ref name=SFSO>Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 17-Sep-2009</ref>

Template:As of, the gender distribution of the population was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.<ref name=AR/> The age distribution, Template:As of, in Teufen is; 409 people or 7.4% of the population are between 0–6 years old. 586 people or 10.6% are 6-15, and 248 people or 4.5% are 16–19. Of the adult population, 247 people or 4.5% of the population are between 20–24 years old. 1,544 people or 27.9% are 25–44, and 1,430 people or 25.8% are 45–64. The senior population distribution is 751 people or 13.6% of the population are between 65–79 years old, and 320 people or 5.8% are over 80.<ref name=AR>Appenzell Outer Rhodes website Template:Webarchive Template:In lang accessed 15 September 2009</ref>

In the 2007 federal election, the FDP received 72.9% of the vote.<ref name=SFSO/>

In Teufen about 79.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).<ref name=SFSO/>

Teufen has an unemployment rate of 1.27%. Template:As of, there were 136 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 66 businesses involved in this sector. 657 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 79 businesses in this sector. 1,463 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 266 businesses in this sector.<ref name=SFSO/>

The historical population is given in the following table:<ref name="AR"/> Template:Historical populations Template:Clear left

Transport

Teufen is located on the meter gauge Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway line, which is operated by Appenzell Railways (Template:Lang, AB) for St. Gallen S-Bahn (lines S20, S21, S22). There are five stations within the municipality: Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws. Services link Teufen with St. Gallen railway station, which is served by national and international trains. The municipality is also served by PostAuto buses.

Tritium production

Teufen is home to RC Tritec, a company that provides Tritium and other radioactive isotopes to industry. Until 2008 they provided luminous Tritium compounds for the Swiss watch industry, but they have replaced radioactive Tritium with non-radioactive Super-LumiNova.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tritium emissions are tested every week and monitored by the Federal Government. In 2010 the waste water radiation levels reached a high of 16 GBq, which is still below the 20 GBq limit, due to construction activities. The 2011 waste water readings are only 2GBq.<ref>Jahresberichte Umweltradioaktivität und Strahlendosen Template:Webarchive. See Jahresbericht 2011 (Alle Kapitel). BAG, Switzerland. Jahresbericht Umweltradioaktivität und Strahlendosen in der Schweiz 2011 Kap.9.</ref>

See also

• Null Stern Hotel

External links

• Official Website Template:In lang
• Official Municipal Newspaper Template:In lang
• Images of Teufen Template:In lang