Appenzell Ausserrhoden is a Swiss canton with German speaking Alignment. The canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden belongs to the Swiss Confederation and is located in the north-east of the country.
Its main town is called Herisau. There are different ways of pronouncing the name Appenzell Ausserrhoden. So it is called in French, for example, Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures, or on Italian Appenzello Esterno and in Romansh Appenzell Dador.
Neighborhood and citizens’ elections
The neighboring cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden are Appenzell Innerrhoden and St. Gallen. All three borders meet on Mount Säntis, which lies in the Alpstein. A vote in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden worked according to the following scheme until 1997:
Citizens entitled to vote all gathered on the state parish square in the so-called “ring”. The canton’s government took the “chair”. This was a grandstand, similar to a wooden stage. If there was a vote, this was done by raising one’s hand. The vote was evaluated by visually comparing the number of raised hands, this is called multiples. In the case of less definite decisions, you had to count your hands in order to evaluate the votes more clearly.
The Appenzell Landsgemeindelied was sung to get in the mood and to open these meetings. The voters and the government sang together.
There is a documentary about the last male rural community in Hundwil. Erich Langjahr made this film. In this vote it was decided that women can vote as well.
The history of the canton of Appenzell
Ausserrhoden in 1597 was divided into the Catholic Innerrhoden and the Reformed Outer Rhodes by dividing Appenzell. The history of the Appenzell Ausserrhoden textile industry begins in the 16th century. Many textile houses were founded in this century. The weaving and later embroidery experienced its peak. This branch of industry lived in Appenzell Ausserrhoden until 1939. At that time, the crisis years of the textile industry in the canton began.
In 1749 the structure of Ausserrhoden was established: twenty parishes and nineteen Reformed parishes.
In 1834, the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden adopted the first liberal constitution and in 1876, Herisau, was appointed as the meeting place for the canton council and the seat of government. This makes the canton and Herisau an important administrative center in Switzerland. In 1972 and 1989 women’s right to vote was introduced at the communal and cantonal levels. In 1991 the voting age was introduced from the age of 18.
The railways of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell was one of the first cantons in that Private railways played a role. The pioneers of the Swiss rail system are also at home here. Most of the privately owned railways are so-called narrow – gauge railways. Some of these have gear sections. The Rorschach-Heiden-Bergbahn has a special position, it is one of the few standard-gauge rack-and-pinion railways in the world. All Appenzell railways currently belong to the Appenzeller Bahnen (AB) umbrella organization. There are no motorways and no SBB track in the area of the Ausserrhoden canton.
