Wil

Wil is the capital of the Wahlkreis of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in 2006. The municipality of Bronschhofen merged into Wil on 1 January 2013. After the merger the Community Identification Number changed from 3425 to 3427.

In 1984, Wil was awarded the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.

Geography

Since the merger in 2013, Wil now has an area of 20.82 km2 (8.04 sq mi). Based on the 2004/09 survey, but including the post-merger area, about 50.1% of the total land is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 30.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.9% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by 111 ha (270 acres) and the agricultural land has decreased by 113 ha (280 acres).

Before the merger, Wil had an area, as of 2006, of 7.6 km2 (2.9 sq mi). Of this area, 32.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 53.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.7%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The former municipality of Bronschhofen had an area, as of 2006, of 13.2 km2 (5.1 sq mi). Of this area, 65.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 12% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.5%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). It consisted of the villages of Bronschhofen and Rossrüti as well as the hamlets of Maugwil, Trungen and the pilgrimage site of Dreibrunnen.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Bear rampant Sable langued and in his virlity Gules and in sinister chief a letter W.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Baronenhaus at Marktgasse 73, the Dominican Abbey of St. Katharina, the Hof (the former seat of the Prince-abbot) and the pilgrimage church Maria-Hilf at Dreibrunnen are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

The old city of Wil is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Transport

It is a railway node, being located on the train line from Zürich-Winterthur to St. Gallen and connected with lines to Frauenfeld, Weinfelden-Konstanz and Wattwil - Nesslau (Toggenburg) or Rapperswil.

The city is close to the border with the Canton of Thurgau.

Religion

From the 2000 census, 8,817 or 53.8% are Roman Catholic, while 3,561 or 21.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 6 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 473 individuals (or about 2.89% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 265 individuals (or about 1.62% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 10 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who are Jewish, and 1,433 (or about 8.74% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 116 individuals (or about 0.71% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 1,138 (or about 6.94% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 573 individuals (or about 3.50% of the population) did not answer the question.

Mayor

On 1 January 2013 Susanne Hartmann became the first female mayor not only of Wil-Bronschhofen but in the entire canton of St. Gallen. Hartmann announced her candidacy in April 2012. Despite all forecasts the result of the elections was a landslide victory for Susanne Hartmann.