Appenzell Innerrhoden

Appenzell Innerrhoden, also called Appenzell Inner-Rhodes in English, is one of the 26 cantons that form the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts, and the seat of its government and parliament is the village of Appenzell. It is traditionally considered a half-canton, the other half being Appenzell Ausserrhoden. It is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest by area, lies in the northeast of the country and, together with Appenzell Ausserrhoden, forms an enclave within the canton of St. Gallen. The canton sits in the Alpine foothills of the Alpstein massif, which culminates at the Santis. It was part of the historical canton of Appenzell until 1597, when the Swiss Reformation divided that canton into the Catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden and the Protestant Appenzell Ausserrhoden. The name Appenzell means the cell or estate of the abbot, a reference to the Abbey of St. Gall.