Teufen AR
Encyclopedia
Teufen is a municipality
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...

 in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

 of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Ausserrhoden is a canton of Switzerland. The seat of the government and parliament is Herisau, judicial authorities are in Trogen. Appenzell Ausserrhoden is located in the north east of Switzerland, bordering the cantons of St...

 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

History

Teufen (Tiuffen) was first mentioned in 1272. By 1300 the place consisted of only five farms. In 1525 the assembly ruled that each parish could decide whether or not to remain Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

. This led to the division of Appenzell
Appenzell
Appenzell is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen....

 in 1597.

In 1841 Teufen offered their new school building as a present to attract the government of the canton. The assembly refused the present.

Weaving was important in Teufen. Around 1820 a new loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...

 was invented in Teufen, allowing embroidery in one go. This led to a boom in embroidery, particularly between 1880 and 1890.

Geography

Teufen has an area, , of 15.3 km² (5.9 sq mi). Of this area, 55.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 14% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Demographics

Teufen has a population of 5,766, of which about 10.0% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.8%. Most of the population speaks German (93.4%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.3%) and Spanish being third ( 0.9%).

, the gender distribution of the population was 48.5% male and 51.5% female. The age distribution, , in Teufen is; 409 people or 7.4% of the population are between 0–6 years old. 586 people or 10.6% are 6-15, and 248 people or 4.5% are 16-19. Of the adult population, 247 people or 4.5% of the population are between 20–24 years old. 1,544 people or 27.9% are 25-44, and 1,430 people or 25.8% are 45-64. The senior population distribution is 751 people or 13.6% of the population are between 65–79 years old, and 320 people or 5.8% are over 80.

In the 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...

 the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

 received 72.9% of the vote.

In Teufen about 79.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...

).

Teufen has an unemployment rate of 1.27%. , there were 136 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 66 businesses involved in this sector. 657 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 79 businesses in this sector. 1,463 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 266 businesses in this sector.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1980 5,027
1990 5,252
2000 5,630
2005 5,622
2007 5,696

Heritage sites of national significance

The Gmündertobel Bridge (shared with Stein, Appenzell
Stein, Appenzell
Stein is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland.-History:The municipality separated from Hundwil in 1749 and was named after the Uf Stein section of the neighbouring river.-Geography:...

), and the Wattbach Bridge (shared with Stein and St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...

) are listed as heritage sites of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...

.

Weather

Teufen has an average of 154.2 days of rain per year and on average receives 1552 mm (61.1 in) of precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

. The wettest month is June during which time Teufen receives an average of 191 mm (7.5 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 15.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 15.2, but with only 164 mm (6.5 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 88 mm (3.5 in) of precipitation over 15.1 days.

Tritium pollution

Teufen is the location of second highest level of radioactive Tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...

 pollution from an industrial source in Switzerland. Figures published in the 2009 yearly report by BAG (Bundesamt für Gesundheit), the Swiss Federal Health Office, show that the total level of liquid and gaseous Tritium emissions from a manufacturer of glowing light paints that is situated in the town is over 5 terabecquerel
Becquerel
The becquerel is the SI-derived unit of radioactivity. One Bq is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. The Bq unit is therefore equivalent to an inverse second, s−1...

per year, while rainwater samples taken 65m from the company chimney show a radioactive measurement of 180 Bq/l on average and maximum readings reaching 580 Bq/l.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK