Rheineck

Rheineck
Coat of arms
Rheineck Show map of Switzerland Rheineck Show map of Canton of St. Gallen
Location of Rheineck
Coordinates: 47°28′N 9°35′E / 47.467°N 9.583°E / 47.467; 9.583Coordinates: 47°28′N 9°35′E / 47.467°N 9.583°E / 47.467; 9.583
Country	Switzerland
Canton	St. Gallen
District	Rheintal
Government
• Mayor	Hans Pfäffli
Area
• Total	2.21 km2 (0.85 sq mi)
Elevation	400 m (1,300 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	3,311
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Postal code	9424
SFOS number	3235
Surrounded by	Gaißau (AT-8), Lutzenberg (AR), Sankt Margrethen, Thal, Walzenhausen (AR)
Website	www.rheineck.ch SFSO statistics

Rheineck is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as castellum Rinegge. In 1218 it was mentioned as Rinegg. An older reference from the Tabula Peutingeriana which mentioned Ad Rhenum is now considered to refer to St Margrethen.

Rheineck has an area, as of 2006^[update], of 2.2 km² (0.85 sq mi). Of this area, 34.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 51.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (6.3%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The municipality is located in the Rorschach region on the left bank of the Alter Rhein, an old channel of the Rhine, which is also the Austrian border. It is about 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Lake Constance. It is a regional center for the Appenzeller foot hills and the lower Rhine valley. As it is located in the narrows between the hills and the Rhine, it has been strategically important for centuries.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules three Fishes Azure nainaint in band on a Bend wavy Argent

Rheineck has a population (as of 31 December 2015) of 3,311. As of 2007^[update], about 34.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000^[update]), 49 are from Germany, 318 are from Italy, 460 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 101 are from Austria, 42 are from Turkey, and 111 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -1.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (82.2%), with Italian being second most common ( 6.1%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 4.1%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000^[update]), 2,655 speak German, 7 people speak French, 196 people speak Italian, and 7 people speak Romansh.