St. Gallen, or sometimes
Sankt Gallen (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the
canton of
St. Gallen in
Switzerland. It evolved from the
hermitage of
Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large
urban agglomeration (with around 160,000 inhabitants) and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic base.