Berneck

Geschichte

Berneck is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.HistoryBerneck is first mentioned in 892 as Farniwang. In 1210 it was mentioned as Bernanc.Coat of armsThe blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Or a Vine Vert fructed Azure issuant from base of the second and twined around a stake Gules that is held by a Bear rampant Sable langued armed and in his virility of the third. The presence of a bear (Bär and also the root of Bern) is a weak example of canting, where a symbol on the coat of arms forms a visual pun or rebus.GeographyBerneck has an area, of 5.6km2. Of this area, 49.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.5%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).The municipality is located in the former Unterrheintal district of the Rheintal Wahlkreis. It is between a line of hills and a side channel of the Rhine valley. It consists of the village of Berneck and the hamlets of Kobel, Rüden, Taa, Husen, Hinterburg and Buechholz.