El Harem Kirchberg (CH)

Kirchberg

Name origin

Kilchberc (old fortification)

First documented mention

1222 AD

Population

9,000

Area

42.59 km²

Canton

St. Gallen

Electoral district

Toggenburg

Vehicle registration

SG

River

Alpbach-->Thur

The Club El Harem is located in Kirchberg-Rickenbach.

Kirchberg is a political municipality in the canton of St. Gallen. It lies at 735 m above sea level, about 32 km west of St. Gallen city. Besides the main village of the same name, the localities of Bazenheid on the Thur, Gähwil, Dietschwil, Müselbach, Schalkhausen, Oetwil, Rupperswil, Nuetenwil, Lamperswil and Stelz also belong to the municipality.

In the Middle Ages, Kirchberg belonged partly to the Prince-Abbey of St. Gallen and partly to the Counts of Toggenburg. There are 17 castle ruins and castle sites within the municipal area, including the Alt-Toggenburg castle near Gähwil. Since 1861, the pilgrimage site St. Iddaburg, dedicated to the veneration of Saint Idda of Toggenburg, has stood on the castle grounds.

In 1831, the new district of Alttoggenburg was created with its 4 municipalities within today's borders. Further constitutional innovations (Federal Constitutions of 1848 and 1874 and Cantonal Constitutions of 1861 and 1890) shaped today's municipal area and its structures. With the entry into force of the new Cantonal Constitution on 1 January 2003, the districts were abolished and replaced by larger electoral districts. As the gateway to Toggenburg, the political municipality of Kirchberg is assigned to the Toggenburg electoral district (Kirchberg to Wildhaus).

In earlier times, Kirchberg was a purely agricultural municipality with many small farmsteads, on which mostly large families lived. The small farms could only survive because practically every farmhouse cellar had a hand embroidery machine, which brought in additional income. These conditions changed during the crisis years of the 1930s, when embroidery production came to a standstill and many families fell into poverty. In the post-war years after World War II, a structural change became noticeable in the municipality. Trades and businesses grew steadily stronger and to this day form a healthy foundation of the municipality's economic life. Industry was also promoted, and today it is active in the sectors of textiles, wood processing, plastics and food (meat processing), pharmaceuticals (tablet and hard gelatine production) and waste disposal.

Today, agriculture still plays a major role. But it too has changed. While at the beginning of the 1960s there were more than 400 farms, today there are only around 170 left. Nevertheless, the municipality of Kirchberg is the largest agricultural municipality with the largest livestock population in the canton of St. Gallen.

People live, dwell and work in the five villages and countless hamlets and farmsteads. Nature and landscape offer a high quality of life and make Kirchberg a "green pearl" on the doorstep of Wil, since only 10% of the area is built up. The forward-thinking municipality has also been awarded the "Energiestadt" label.