Stein
Former municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Stein
Stein Show map of Switzerland Stein Show map of Canton of St. Gallen
Coordinates: 47°12′N 9°14′E / 47.200°N 9.233°E / 47.200; 9.233
Country	Switzerland
Canton	St. Gallen
District	Toggenburg
Government
• Mayor	Ueli Schärer
Area
• Total	12.24 km2 (4.73 sq mi)
Elevation	838 m (2,749 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	374
• Density	31/km2 (79/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	9655
SFOS number	3356
ISO 3166 code	CH-SG
Surrounded by	Alt Sankt Johann, Amden, Nesslau-Krummenau
Website	www.stein-sg.ch SFSO statistics

Stein (German pronunciation: [ʃtaɪn] ^ⓘ) is a former municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The municipalities of Nesslau-Krummenau and Stein merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Nesslau.^[1]

Stein had an area, as of 2006, of 12.3 km² (4.7 sq mi). Of this area, 57.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (3.3%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).^[2]

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Or on a mount of the same a Stone Cliff vert. This is a simple example of canting as German: Stein means stone. The stone on the coat of arms is the Goggeienberg, a small, local crag.^[3]

Stein had a population (as of Dec 2011) of 374.^[4] As of 2007, about 3.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000), 5 are from Germany, 1 person is from Italy,2 are from ex-Yugoslavia, and 2 are from another country.^[5] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -7.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (98.2%), with Finnish being second most common ( 0.8%) and Italian being third ( 0.3%).^[2] Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 391 speak German, 1 person speaks, Italian,^[6]

The age distribution, as of 2000, in Stein is; 61 children or 15.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 56 teenagers or 14.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 38 people or 9.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 52 people or 13.1% are between 30 and 39, 48 people or 12.1% are between 40 and 49, and 62 people or 15.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 38 people or 9.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 21 people or 5.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 19 people or 4.8% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 3 people or 0.8% who are between 90 and 99.^[6]

In 2000 there were 42 persons (or 10.6% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 80 (or 20.1%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 243 (or 61.1%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 14 (or 3.5%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 6 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, and 13 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.^[6]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 36.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (23.7%), the FDP (15.1%) and the SP (7.8%).^[2]

In Stein about 67.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).^[2] Out of the total population in Stein, as of 2000, the highest education level completed by 129 people (32.4% of the population) was Primary, while 136 (34.2%) have completed their secondary education, 27 (6.8%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 5 (1.3%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.^[6]

The village of Stein has a pair of notable churches. The Reformed church was built in 1497 and renovated in 1929. The north tower has a gabled roof. The Catholic church of St. Jacob was built in 1927-28, but the Rococo pulpit dates from 1770.^[7]

As of  2007, Stein had an unemployment rate of 0.79%. As of 2005, there were 80 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 32 businesses involved in this sector. 20 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 52 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 11 businesses in this sector.^[2]

As of October 2009 the average unemployment rate was 0.5%.^[8] There were 46 businesses in the municipality of which 4 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 11 were involved in the third.^[9]

As of 2000 there were 111 residents who worked in the municipality, while 75 residents worked outside Stein and 33 people commuted into the municipality for work.^[10]

From the 2000 census, 173 or 43.5% are Roman Catholic, while 187 or 47.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Orthodox Church, and there are 25 individuals (or about 6.28% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 2 (or about 0.50% of the population) who are Islamic. 9 (or about 2.26% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 1 individuals (or about 0.25% of the population) did not answer the question.^[6]

• Official website (in German)