Rheineck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rheineck
Coat of arms
Rheineck Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Rheineck Location in Canton of St. Gallen Show map of Canton of St. Gallen
Country	Switzerland
Canton	St. Gallen
District	Rheintal
Area
• Total	2.2 km2 (0.8 sq mi)
Elevation	400 m (1,300 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	3,404
• Density	1,550/km2 (4,010/sq mi)
Postal code	9424
Surrounded by	Gaißau (AT-8), Lutzenberg (AR), Sankt Margrethen, Thal, Walzenhausen (AR)

Rheineck is a small town, also called a municipality, located in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It's part of the Rheintal area.

History of Rheineck

Rheineck was first mentioned around the year 1163. Back then, it was known as castellum Rinegge. Later, in 1218, it was called Rinegg. There was an older mention of "Ad Rhenum" that people thought was Rheineck, but now we know it was actually about a nearby place called St Margrethen.

Geography of Rheineck

The mouth of the Rhine River as it flows into Lake Constance.

An aerial view of Rheineck from 400 meters high, taken in 1923.

Rheineck covers an area of about 2.2 square kilometers (0.85 square miles). A good part of this land, about 34.8%, is used for farming. Forests cover 7.7% of the area. More than half of the land, 51.1%, has buildings or roads on it. The rest, about 6.3%, is made up of rivers or lakes.

The town is located in the Rorschach region, on the left side of the Alter Rhein. This is an old channel of the Rhine River, which also forms part of the border with Austria. Rheineck is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of Lake Constance. It's an important center for the Appenzeller foothills and the lower Rhine valley. Because it's in a narrow spot between hills and the Rhine, it has been a very important place for travel and trade for hundreds of years.

Rheineck's Coat of Arms

The coat of arms for Rheineck has a special design. It shows three blue fish swimming in a wavy silver stripe on a red background. This design is called Gules three Fishes Azure nainaint in band on a Bend wavy Argent.

People and Population

The main street in Rheineck.

Rheineck has a population of about 3,235 people. Around 34.7% of the people living in Rheineck are from other countries. Many of these foreign residents come from Italy, former Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria, and Turkey. Most people in Rheineck, about 82.2%, speak German. The next most common languages are Italian (6.1%) and Serbo-Croatian (4.1%).

In terms of age, about 12% of the population are children aged 0-9 years old. Teenagers, aged 10-19, make up about 12.5% of the population. The largest group is adults between 20 and 59 years old, making up about 52% of the population. Older adults, aged 60 and above, make up about 21.4% of the population.

In 2000, about 15.3% of homes had one person living alone. About 23.4% were couples without children, and 52.3% were couples with children.

In the 2007 federal election, the most popular political party was the SVP, which got 41.1% of the votes. Other popular parties included the CVP (17.1%), the FDP (15.3%), and the SP (13.7%). These parties represent different ideas about how the country should be run.

Many people in Rheineck have a good education. About 62.2% of adults aged 25-64 have finished high school or gone on to higher education, like university.

Here's how Rheineck's population has changed over time:

Important Heritage Sites

The Löwenhof building at Rorschacherstrasse 15 is a very important historical site in Switzerland. It's listed as a heritage site of national significance.

The entire village of Rheineck is also recognized as an important Swiss heritage site. Plus, the "Schlosslandschaft Rorschach / Alter Rhein," which means "Castle Landscape Rorschach / Old Rhine," is also a special area. This area includes several castles along the Rhine River and is shared with other nearby towns like Berg, Goldach, and St. Margrethen.

Economy and Jobs

In 2007, the unemployment rate in Rheineck was 2.87%. This means a small percentage of people who wanted to work couldn't find jobs.

Most jobs in Rheineck are in the service industry, like shops, restaurants, and offices. This is called the tertiary sector, and it employs 805 people in 144 businesses. The next biggest sector is manufacturing and construction, called the secondary sector, with 591 people working in 58 businesses. A small number of people, 9, work in farming, which is the primary economic sector.

Many people who live in Rheineck actually travel to other towns for work. In 2000, about 1,038 residents worked outside Rheineck. However, many people also come into Rheineck for work, with 1,080 people commuting into the town.

Transport and Travel

Rheineck has a train station that is part of the St. Margrethen–Rorschach railway line. You can catch trains like the S2, S4, and S5 services of the St. Gallen S-Bahn to the city of St. Gallen several times an hour.

There's also a special Rheineck–Walzenhausen mountain railway that connects the station to the town of Walzenhausen, which is 272 meters (892 feet) higher up! This mountain railway runs once or twice an hour. Rheineck is also served by local bus lines, making it easy to get around.

Rheineck is also important for boat travel on Lake Constance. The town's boat docks are located behind the train station, on the old Rhine channel. From here, you can take boats across the lake.

Religion in Rheineck

The church tower of the Swiss Reformed Church in Rheineck.

Based on a census from 2000, about 44% of the people in Rheineck are Roman Catholic. Another 30.4% belong to the Swiss Reformed Church. There are also people who belong to the Orthodox Church (about 2.72%) and other Christian churches (about 3.25%). About 10.52% of the population are Islamic. Some people (about 5.79%) do not belong to any church, and a small number (about 0.87%) belong to other religions not listed.

Notable People from Rheineck

Many interesting people have connections to Rheineck:

• Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli (1716–1780) was a Swiss expert in farming, a rich merchant, and a lawyer. He spent a lot of his younger years in Rheineck.
• Anna Indermaur (1894–1980) was a Swiss artist who was born in Rheineck.
• Karl Eckstein (born 1949) is a professor, lawyer, and an honorary Consul for Russia in Switzerland. He went to school in Rheineck.
• Ruth Erat (born 1951) is a Swiss teacher, author, painter, and politician who lives in Rheineck.

See also

In Spanish: Rheineck para niños