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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Ruggell

Ruggell (German pronunciation: [ʁuˈɡɛl] ) is a municipality of Liechtenstein. It is the northernmost and lowest elevated municipality. As of 2019, it has a population of 2,322.

History

Ruggell has an ancient history, with evidence of human activity preceding the Bronze Age. Recorded history begins with ties related to the Abbey of Saint Gall in Switzerland. The name comes from Old Romansh runcaglia, meaning "clearing". It is most known for conservation areas and the historic St. Fridolin's Parish Church.

Ruggell had 397 inhabitants in 1784. A bridge across the Rhine (to Salez in Sennwald, Switzerland) was built in 1929.

Administration

Ruggell is administered by the mayor and a 8-person municipal council, elected every four years since 1975. The incumbent mayor is Christian Öhri, since 2023.

List of mayors (1864–present)

List of mayors (1864–present)
Name Term Party Ref(s).
Makarius Büchel 1864–1867
Sebastian Heeb 1867–1870
Makarius Büchel 1870–1873
Sebastian Heeb 1873–1876
Rudolf Ignaz Öhri 1876–1879
Sebastian Heeb 1879–1882
Rudolf Ignaz Öhri 1882–1885
Chrysostomus Büchel 1885–1891
Franz Josef Hoop 1891–1894
Chrysostomus Büchel 1894–1900
Franz Josef Hoop 1900–1912
August Büchel 1912–1918
Andreas Eberle 1918–1921
Johann Büchel 1921–1930 CSVP
Franz Xaver Hoop 1930–1939 FBP
Josef Öhri 1939–1945
Ernst Büchel 1945–1951
Andreas Hoop 1951–1966 VU
Hugo Öhri 1966–1983 FBP
Anton Hoop 1983–1999 VU
Jakob Büchel 1999–2007
Ernst Büchel 2007–2015 FBP
Maria Kaiser-Eberle 2015–2023
Christian Öhri 2023

Geography

While Liechtenstein is known as a largely mountainous country, Ruggell is largely flat and is situated along the Rhine River, where the international borders with Switzerland and Austria meet. On 13 August 2003, Ruggell had a temperature of 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), which is the highest temperature recorded in Liechtenstein.

Flora and fauna

Ruggeller Riet

On the north side of the Eschnerberg mountain is located the roughly 90-hectare nature reserve Ruggeller Riet, rich in fauna and especially in flora. The great biodiversity of the Ruggeller Riets includes peat moss, moor grass, Kleinseggenrieder and bogrush. At the end of May to June, the siberian iris blooms in the large parts of the nature reserve. 736 plant and 1,631 animal species occur in the Ruggeller Riet, among them the white stork and the Eurasian curlew, which has disappeared as a breeding bird since 1997.

The Ruggeller are popularly called "Lättaknätter". The loamy soil that occurs here is called "Lätta". In the past peat was used to heat houses during cold season. This ancient tradition has increasingly disappeared in recent years.

Sport

Municipality is famous for FC Ruggell, one of the best teams in the country, although it plays in the sixth division of Switzerland. In other sporting areas cycling, field hockey, skiing, and other winter sports stand out. In addition, the town of Ruggell has one of the four sports halls of Liechtenstein; the others are in Schaan, Vaduz, and Balzers.

Notable people

  • Klaus Tschütscher (born 1967) a politician from Liechtenstein, twelfth Prime Minister of Liechtenstein 2009–2013, lives in Ruggell.
  • Marcel Tschopp (born 1974 in Ruggell) a Liechtensteiner orienteer and track athlete, specializing in the marathon; was Liechtenstein's flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics
  • Benjamin Büchel (born 1989 in Ruggell) international footballer who plays for FC Vaduz.

References

  1. ^ Bevölkerungsstatistik
  2. ^ Gassmann, Jens; Frommelt, Fabian; Mayr, Ulrike (2023). "Ruggell". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  3. ^ Tourismus, Schweiz. "Unique flora in the Rugeller Riet". Switzerland Tourism.
  4. ^ Naturschutzgebiet Ruggeller Riet. On the website of the municipality of Ruggell, accessed on 16 June 2019
  5. ^ Felice, Nidija; Merz, Anna (31 December 2011). "Ruggeller Riet". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein online (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Peat fires, turf fires, cooking over peat, stacks, cutting spades, carrying peat home". www.oldandinteresting.com.

Media related to Ruggell at Wikimedia Commons