Lichtensteig

Lichtensteig
Lichtensteig Show map of Switzerland Lichtensteig Show map of Canton of St. Gallen
Location of Lichtensteig
Coordinates: 47°19′N 9°5′E / 47.317°N 9.083°E / 47.317; 9.083Coordinates: 47°19′N 9°5′E / 47.317°N 9.083°E / 47.317; 9.083
Country	Switzerland
Canton	St. Gallen
District	Toggenburg
Government
• Mayor	Roger Hochreutener
Area
• Total	2.82 km2 (1.09 sq mi)
Elevation	625 m (2,051 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	1,911
• Density	680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Postal code	9620
SFOS number	3374
Surrounded by	Bütschwil, Oberhelfenschwil, Wattwil
Twin towns	Adelberg (Germany)
Website	www.lichtensteig.ch SFSO statistics

Lichtensteig is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Lichtensteig is first mentioned in 1228 as Liehtvnsteige. In 1310 it was mentioned as Liechtensteig.

Lichtensteig has an area, as of 2006^[update], of 2.8 km² (1.1 sq mi). Of this area, 35.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 44.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 18.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.4%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The municipality is located in the Toggenburg Wahlkreis on the right side of the Thur at the foot of the Wasserfluh. The ruins of Neu-Toggenburg castle are on a rocky outcropping above the village.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Gules and Sable overall a letter L Or

Lichtensteig has a population (as of 31 December 2015) of 1,911. As of 2007^[update], about 19.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000^[update]), 31 are from Germany, 82 are from Italy, 113 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 13 are from Austria, 43 are from Turkey, and 91 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (89.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 2.0%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000^[update]), 1,697 speak German, 5 people speak French, 52 people speak Italian, and 1 person speaks Romansh.