Kirchberg, St. Gallen

Kirchberg is a municipality of about 9,200 inhabitants in the Toggenburg constituency of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, first mentioned in 1222 as Kilchberc. It is the most north-western municipality of the constituency, bordered on the west by the canton of Thurgau and on the east by the Thur river. It consists of the village of Kirchberg on a high plateau in the centre of the municipality, the village of Gähwil south of Kirchberg and the linear village of Bazenheid on a terrace above the Thur, with scattered hamlets such as Müselbach, Dietschwil, Ötwil, Nuetenwil, Rupperswil and Schalkhusen. The municipality covers about 42.6 square kilometres, of which 59.5 percent is farmland, 30.9 percent forest and only 9 percent settled.