Balgach

Balgach is a municipality in the constituency Rhine valley in the canton of St. Gallen. The municipality comprises the town of Balgach and a part of Heerbrugg.

  • 5.1 Attractions

Geography

Balgach is on the main road 13, at the foot of the western slope of the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, between the towns of Au north and south Rebstein. To the east is bordered Widnau, Upper Riet and Diepoldsau the limits of Balgach. West extends Balgach up to the crest of the " Hümpeler " mountain, to the municipal boundaries of Berneck (SG), Reute (AR) and Oberegg (AI). The forest of the foothills of the Appenzeller country ( Hümpeler ) covered ie in the south bird forest in the middle of church and forest in the north Hümpelerwald. On Hümpeler is the Haupwasserfassung the Hümpelerquelle, which supplies a large part of the community with water. The highest point is attributed to the Hümpelerberg, bears the name Nonnenbommert 641 m above sea level. M.. Below the woods, on the ground ( bottom lane) is the district of soil, which is built with numerous villas. The exclusive location at the foot of the vineyards offers a view over the Rhine Valley from Lake Constance to the Santis. To the south, on another hill, which is separated by a ravine from the ground, there is the Castle Green Stone, which is inhabited by industrialist Edgar Oehler. North of it is, in the district Heerbrugg on the northern end of the Hümpeler that Heerbrugg Castle and Villa Schmidheiny. On the slope below the bottom quarter of the historic village center is to be found, which in the Federal Inventory of estimable sites of national significance in Switzerland ( ISOS ) is listed. The main road 13 at the foot of the slope divides the town into two halves. The eastern side was first inhabited in recent times, which is why there are mainly industrial and log buildings, the east extending to the SBB railway line. East of the railway line is the sports complex Riet and the nature reserve Höchstern. Further east, in the Mädern which are shown in part as flood plains, are still the farms Lärchenhof, Erlenhof, Lindenhof, Sonnenhof Rietmüli. Right through the middle from south to north runs the countries Aach, an artificial drainage channel which derives the numerous streams that drain the slopes of the Rhine Valley from Marbach to Heerbrugg in the Rhine valley inland canal. Most of these streams are passed over long distances by tunneling among the villages. The tunnels each begin already on the hillside above the village center and ends usually shortly before or after the SBB line. The countries Aach is conducted in Heerbrugg in a tunnel, which runs under Widnau to pass into the internal channel close to the intersection. This should increase the flood safety, because thereby the streams and the Aach enters into predetermined flood plains, in the Mädern, on the shore.

Population

Economy

In the plane towards the Rhine, some farms are located above the village itself and vineyards extend to the edge of the forest up. Apart from the industry in the district Heerbrugg and the strong growth in industrial zone ' paths ' to the Rietstrasse the community Balgach is rural.

From parts of the former company Wild Heerbrugg several new companies have emerged, which are still partly active in Balgach / Heerbrugg, but now belong to foreign parent companies. In addition to the company Leica Geosystems AG Vectronix, SwissOptic AG, Polymeca AG and Escatec Electronics (all with respect to the former company Wild ), the independent company Heule Tools AG in Balgach is established.

Traffic

Balgach is served by the bus line 301 of RTB Rhine Valley bus. This is the successor to the 1977 set trolleybus Altstaetten - Berneck, in turn, opened in 1897, 1940, the tram Altstaetten - Berneck replaced.

History

The village was 890/891 first mentioned as Palgaa and belonged in the 14th century, the Barons of Sax, which it sold in 1347 to Stift Lindau. 1510 acquired the monastery of St. Gallen jurisdiction. Raised in Balgach Otto Oesch - Maggion (1864-1941), first village clerk in Balgach, then manager of the brickyard Bruggwald St. Gallen ( Brickyard J.Schmidheiny & Co.), developed over many years, a chronicle of Balgach.

Arts Culture

Attractions

An historic building is the old town hall on the Steigstrasse which now houses the local museum is housed. It is on the list of cultural property of national significance.

The municipal area 22 wells have registered and are under the control of the water waiting. Of these, 17 are located alone in the center of the village and the neighboring districts. Many of them are equipped with an artistic jewelry.

Personalities

  • Jacob Lawrence Sonderegger (1825-1896), physician and politician
  • Karl Berger (1898-1993), electrical engineer and lightning researchers
  • Meinrad ignition (1916-1998), called Mady ignition, artist and sculptor
  • Jakob Nüesch ( born 1932 ), biologist and president of ETH Zurich
  • Edgar Oehler ( b. 1942 ), businessman and politician ( CVP)
  • Ernst Schmidheiny I. (1871-1935), Swiss industrialist and politician, son of Jacob Schmidheiny (1838 )
  • Ernst Schmidheiny II: (1902-1985), Swiss industrialist and founder of the Ernst Schmidheiny Foundation, son of Ernst Schmidheiny (1871 )
  • Max Schmidheiny (1908-1991), a Swiss engineer, industrialist and politician, 1978 founder of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation, son of Ernst Schmidheiny (1871 )
  • Jacob Schmidheiny I. (1838-1905), Swiss entrepreneur
  • Jacob Schmidheiny II (1875-1955), Swiss businessman, son of Jacob Schmidheiny (1838 )
  • Stephan Schmidheiny ( born 1947 ), a Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist, son of Max Schmidheiny
  • Thomas Schmidheiny ( born 1945 ), a Swiss entrepreneur and art collector, son of Max Schmidheiny
Rheintal (Wahlkreis) Oberriet Marbach, St. Gallen Eichberg, Switzerland Rheineck Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen
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