Schmerikon
Schmerikon is a municipality in the "Wahlkreis" (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. In the local Swiss German dialect it is called "Schmerike". Geography. Schmerikon is located at the head of Lake Zurich, on the section of the lake known as the "Obersee" and where the Linth river enters the lake. Part of the municipality is a natural reserve, particularly along the lake shore. Schmerikon has an area, , of . Of this area, 38.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 27% is settled (buildings or  roads) and the remainder (11.1%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). Coat of arms. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is "Gules two Crescents addorsed Or and in chief a Cross pattee Argent." Demographics. Schmerikon has a population (as of ) of . , about 25.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 22 are from Germany, 239 are from Italy, 363 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 17 are from Austria, 140 are from Turkey, and 97 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 8.2%. Most  of the population () speaks German (83.4%), with Italian being second most common (4.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (3.2%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 2,654 speak German, 11 people speak French, 150 people speak Italian, and 1 person speaks Romansh. The age distribution, , in Schmerikon is; 365 children or 11.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 420 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 471 people or 14.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 494 people or 15.5% are between 30 and 39, 459 people or  14.4% are between 40 and 49, and 435 people or 13.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 262 people or 8.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 177 people or 5.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 79 people or 2.5% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 20 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99. In the 2019 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (18.2%), the CVP (13.8 %), and the Greens (13.5%). In Schmerikon about 64.4% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule"). Out of the total population in Schmerikon, , the highest education level completed by 792 people (24.9% of the population) was Primary, while 1,164 (36.6%) have completed their secondary education, 279 (8.8%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 153 (4.8%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question. Transport. Schmerikon railway station is served by the inter-regional Voralpen Express, which links Lucerne and Romanshorn via Rapperswil  and St. Gallen, and by a Regio service from Rapperswil to Linthal. Both trains run hourly, combining to provide a half-hourly service to Rapperswil. The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft provides passenger shipping services on Lake Zurich, including several daily through services to Zurich. These have a journey time of over three hours. Economy. , Schmerikon had an unemployment rate of 1.67%. , there were 105 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 480 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 49 businesses in this sector. 777 people are employed in the tertiary  sector, with 112 businesses in this sector. The main bank in this small town is "Bank Linth". The two main supermarkets are both located a 5-minute walk away from the train station, which is also the town centre. Schmerikon is a home to Schluckibier brewery and Schmerknerwii winery. Religion. From the , 2,147 or 67.5% are Roman Catholic, while 411 or 12.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 56 individuals (or about 1.76% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox  Church, and there are 22 individuals (or about 0.69% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There is 1 individual who is Jewish, and 248 (or about 7.79% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 22 individuals (or about 0.69% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 166 (or about 5.22% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 108 individuals (or about 3.39% of the population) did not answer the question. Sights. The village of Schmerikon is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage  Sites. There are 2 B-class objects of cultural property protected by Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: "Haus zum Hirzen" from 17th century and "catholic church of St. Jodokus" with a tower from 1500. "Schmerikoner Ried", a reed located on the northeastern lake shore in the "Linthebene" area towards the Grynau Castle, was set under federal protection as a low-moor bog of national importance (German: "Bundesinventar der Flachmoore von nationaler Bedeutung") in 1994. Tourism. Thanks to its location along the lake Obersee, Schmerikon is popular weekend destination for cyclists and  hikers. National cycling routes 9 (Lakes Route) and 99 (Herzroute) run through municipality. National hiking route 4 (Via Jacobi) run through municipality as one of Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes as well as regional route 84 (Zürichsee-Rundweg). Schmerikon offers a choice of hotels located at the lakeside. Municipality has indoor swimming pool and a lakeside pool with a large lakeside sunbathing lawn, offers rental service of various water sports equipment.