Kirchberg, St. Gallen

Kirchberg is first mentioned in 1222 as Kilchberc. ==Geography==

(1929) Kirchberg has an area, , of . Of this area, 59.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Toggenburg Wahlkreis. It is the most north-western municipality in the Wahlkreis and in bordered in the west by canton Thurgau and in the east by the Thur river. It consists of the village of Kirchberg on a high plateau in the center of the municipality, the village of Gähwil south of Kirchberg and the linear village of Bazenheid on a terrace above the Thur. Additionally, scattered around the municipality, there are the hamlets of Müselbach, Dietschwil, Ötwil, Nuetenwil, Rupperswil, Bräägg, Schalkhusen, Wolfikon, Lütenriet, Buomberg, Bäbikon and Husen. ==Coat of arms==

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pall Or a Lion rampant Gules crowned Argent and Or a Semi Eagle displayed issuant Azure langued Gules and crowned Argent. ==Demographics==

Kirchberg has a population (as of ) of . , about 22.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 102 are from Germany, 187 are from Italy, 1,002 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 34 are from Austria, 284 are from Turkey, and 211 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 2.3%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.4%), with Albanian being second most common ( 4.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 2.4%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 6,829 speak German, 15 people speak French, 134 people speak Italian, and 7 people speak Romansh. there were 709 people (or 9.0% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,447 (or 18.3%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 5,004 (or 63.3%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 353 (or 4.5%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 68 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 37 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 39 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 247 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. ==Heritage sites of national significance==

The catholic parish and pilgrimage church of St. Peter and Paul is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The hamlet of Bäbikon is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. ==Economy==

, Kirchberg had an unemployment rate of 1.79%. , there were 467 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 186 businesses involved in this sector. 1,962 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 120 businesses in this sector. 1,705 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 232 businesses in this sector. There were 543 businesses in the municipality of which 132 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 232 were involved in the third. there were 2,107 residents who worked in the municipality, while 1,789 residents worked outside Kirchberg and 1,561 people commuted into the municipality for work. ==Religion==

From the , 4,820 or 61.0% are Roman Catholic, while 1,370 or 17.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 13 individuals (or about 0.16% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 243 individuals (or about 3.07% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 87 individuals (or about 1.10% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 2 individuals (or about 0.03% of the population) who are Jewish, and 802 (or about 10.15% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 31 individuals (or about 0.39% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 304 (or about 3.85% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 232 individuals (or about 2.94% of the population) did not answer the question. ==Transport==

Kirchberg sits on the Wil–Ebnat-Kappel line between Wattwil and Wil and is served by the St. Gallen S-Bahn at Bazenheid railway station. == Notable people ==

• Arthur Wittwer (born 1927) a Swiss long-distance runner, competed in the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics • Ida of Toggenburg (c. 1140 – c. 1226) a nun and a Catholic saint ==References==