Schänis

Coat of arms

Schänis

Location of Schänis

Coordinates: 47°9′N 9°3′E / 47.150°N 9.050°ECoordinates: 47°9′N 9°3′E / 47.150°N 9.050°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Erich Jud

Area

• Total

39.94 km² (15.42 sq mi)

Elevation

420 m (1,380 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

3,762

• Density

94/km² (240/sq mi)

Postal code

8718

SFOS number

3315

Localities

Ziegelbrücke

Surrounded by

Amden, Benken, Bilten (GL), Ebnat-Kappel, Kaltbrunn, Nesslau-Krummenau, Niederurnen (GL), Weesen

Website

www.schaenis.ch
SFSO statistics

Schänis is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Schänis is first mentioned in 972 as Schennines. Until 1798 it was the capital of the Herrschaft of Gaster and until 1831 it was the capital of the District. In the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars, it was the site of several battles between the Habsburg forces and the French Revolutionary Army: in particular, the first and second battles of Zurich and the Battle of Winterthur were fought there, or nearby. It was considered part of territory necessary to hold if the Coalition forces were to secure the Swiss Cantons. On the morning of 25 September, prior to the second Battle of Zurich, Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze and his chief of staff were killed there while conducted a reconnaissance ride near the village of Schänis, on the Linth river by a party French scouts from the 25th Demi-brigade. Initially, Hotze was taken from the battlefield to the church in Schänis, where he was buried. In 1851, his body was moved to Bregenz and established in a monument there.

Schänis has an area, as of 2006^[update], of 39.9 km² (15.4 sq mi). Of this area, 49.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 41.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4.5%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The municipality is located in the See-Gaster Wahlkreis on a terrace on the edge of the Linth valley. It consists of the village of Schänis and the hamlets of Maseltrangen, Dorf, Rufi and Rütiberg as well as seasonally occupied alpine herding villages near the Speer range.

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Wikipedia