Herisau

Herisau is a municipality and the capital of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament, while the judicial authorities sit in Trogen, and about one third of the population of the half canton lives in Herisau. It was first mentioned in 837 as Herinisauva and its church in 907. The town was destroyed in 1084 and again in 1248 and 1249 in conflicts with the monastery of St. Gallen, joined an alliance with other Appenzell places in 1401 during the Appenzell Wars, and bought itself free from the monastery between 1517 and 1518. The town hall was built in 1601 and a fire largely destroyed the town in 1606. Between 1798 and 1803 Herisau was the capital of the canton Santis. The municipality covers about 25.2 square kilometres, had 15,527 residents in 2008 and has three railway stations.