Pfäfers Abbey

The monastery Ragaz was a Benedictine monastery on the territory of modern political community Ragaz in canton St. Gallen. The monastery was founded in the 8th century and 1838, offset by the Grand Council of the Canton of St. Gallen decision. The baroque monastery dating from the 17th century buildings, since 1845 the cantonal psychiatric hospital St. Pirminsberg. The former monastery church of St. Mary is the Catholic parish Ragaz as a parish church.

History

The monastery was founded Ragaz according to the Chronicle of Hermann the Lame from the monastery of Reichenau as Monasterium Fabariense (Latin for field beans ) in the year 731. The first monks came from the monastery of Reichenau. The founding legend refers to the itinerant bishop and later Holy Pirmin. 762, the abbey was first mentioned in records. The monastery controlled the important route over the Kunkelspass to Graubunden passes to Italy. In addition to the episcopal city of Chur, the monastery was the most important ecclesiastical center in Churrätien and the Diocese of Chur. Many parishes in the region were founded in the 9th and 10th centuries by Ragaz from. The substantial free float of the monastery concentrated in eastern Switzerland, especially between Weesen and Maienfeld, but ranged to present-day Baden- Württemberg, the Bergell, the Vinschgau Valley and South Tyrol.

Emperor Lothair assured the monastery Pfäfers 840 to the free Abtwahl. 861 Ragaz received immunity and royal protection. The East Frankish king Louis the Child gave 905 Ragaz to Bishop Solomon III. of Constance, who was also abbot of St. Gallen simultaneously. Between 914 and 949, the St. Gallen Abbey and the Bishop of Chur fought around the Abbey. Emperor Otto I finally confirmed 949 again for the free Abtwahl Ragaz, making the monastery remained independent. During the Investiture Controversy, however Ragaz came under renewed foreign control. Henry IV granted the abbey in 1095 to the bishopric of Basel, which traded in 1114 with Henry V, the castle Rappoltstein (Alsace ) against Ragaz. Only the intervention of the Pope Paschal II set 1116, the freedom of the monastery Ragaz restored. During the early Middle Ages Ragaz remained the most important monastery in the diocese of Chur and intellectual center of the region. The three most important manuscripts Churrätiens, Liber Aureus ( most important source for the history of the Abbey Ragaz ), Liber Viventium ( Memorial book of the abbey Ragaz ) and Vidimus Heider ( cartulary of the abbey Ragaz ) were made in Ragaz.

1208 forgave King Otto IV, the advocacy of the possessions of the monastery Ragaz to the barons of Sax, but they pledged partially. 1257 bought Abbot Rudolf of Bernang for 300 silver marks the entire Bailiwick back and transferred it in 1261 to the Lords of wild castle on Castle Freudenberg. In the 14th century there were two separate bailiwicks: Burg Freudenberg and the place Ragaz and the monastery and the top Tamina. Later, the bailiwicks reached the Counts of Berg -Sargans and becoming mountain Heiligenberg. 1397 bought the monastery back in 1408 and received the Bailiwick of King Ruprecht the privilege to choose the screen Vogt himself and dismiss.

After the acquisition of the county Sargans by the Seven Ancient places of this Confederation took over the umbrella advocacy of Ragaz. The monastery fell into the turmoil of the Swabian War and the Reformation in financial and political distress. Although Abbot Johann Heider (1586-1600) managed briefly to restore the position of the monastery, but under his successors, the situation deteriorated in such a way that the Swiss Benedictine Congregation took over the administration of the monastery.

1665 a fire destroyed the monastery and the church. Abt 1672 Justus zinc laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction in the Baroque style according to the plans of Giovanni Serro and Giuglio Barbieri. Because of the catastrophic financial situation of the abbey in 1676 had to resign under pressure from the Swiss Benedictine Congregation zinc. His successor, Abbot Boniface I. Tschupp, completed the present still existing facility 1694th Under Boniface I. succeeded financial health.

About the Abtwahl of Ambrose Müller was born in 1734 an affair, since Zurich refused to confirm Müller. John Scheuchzer, the brother of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, was therefore commissioned to investigate the imperial privileges of the abbey. Some of the imperial and papal documents about the monastery have now clearly identified as fakes that were probably established in the 17th century. The negotiations at the confederate hearing from 1738 finally confirmed the court rights of the abbey on the municipalities Ragaz, Vättis, Valens and Ragaz.

1794, there was an uprising of the subjects of the monastery, who was struck down by the Federal Bailiff of Sargans. As the county Sargans was dismissed from the Confederation to freedom on 11 November 1798 also Abbot Benedict Bochsler had to connect and explain his subjects also for free. After the French invasion the monastery was dissolved and partially destroyed. 1801 returned the abbot with some brothers back in 1803 when the monastery was formally restored after the founding of the canton of St. Gallen. The poor financial condition of the monastery caused the last abbot Plazidus Pfister to apply for the secularization of the abbey Ragaz in Rome in 1838. Even before Pope Gregory XVI. in a letter dated March 20, 1838 rejected this request, the Grand Council of the Canton of St. Gallen had the monastery Ragaz declared on February 20, 1838 for canceled and confiscated the assets. The Catholic denomination part tried in vain until in November 1839 to claim the assets for themselves.

In the buildings of the abbey, the cantonal mental hospital St. Pirminsberg was founded on November 14, 1845, today's Psychiatric Hospital St. Pirminsberg.

The valuable cultural treasures of the abbey were auctioned off and scattered in museums throughout the world. From knight Conrad of Wolfurt comes the famous " Wolfurter chalice " which was donated to the monastery in the 13th century. 1853 the monastery archive was handed over to the pin Archives St. Gallen.

From 1619 to 1845 the bones of the Archpriest Nicolò Rusca were kept in Pfäfers Monastery, at the time a beatification process runs for. Today they are in the collegiate church of Sondrio in Valtellina.

Abbots of the monastery Ragaz

• Adalbertus, before 762
• Gibba, before 762
• Anastasius, before 762
• Adalbertus, before 762
• Lupicinus, before 762
• Vicentius, after 762
• Marcian, after 762
• Bercautius, after 762
• Crispio, before, 840
• Silvanus, 840-861
• Augustanus, after 861
• Vitalis, 877
• Victor, 9th century
• John, 9th century
• Salomon, 905-919
• Waldo, 920-949
• Erembreht, 950
• Enzelinus, before 958
• Maiorinus, 972
• Alavicus, 973-997

• Eberhardus, 997 - about 1000
• Subordinates, after 1000
• Hartmannus, about 1020-1030
• Salomon, 1032-1040
• Pirthelo, 1050
• Realty, 1064-1067
• Odalrichus, after 1067
• Syfridus, after 1067, before 1100
• Ruodpertus, after 1067, before 1100
• Wernherus, before 1100
• Hesso, after 1067, before 1100
• Marcuardus, 1100
• Geroldus, 1110-1116
• Wernerus, 1125
• Wicrammus, 1127-1139
• Heinricus, 1155-1158
• Rudolfus, 1161
• Svicerus, 1182
• Hupoldus, 1200

• Conrad of Zwiesel, 1206-1217
• Ludwig von St. Gallen, 1220/21-1232
• Hugo of Villingen, 1241-1244
• Rudolf von Bernang, 1253-1263
• Conrad of Wolfurt, 1265-1277
• Konrad von Ruchenberg, 1282-1324
• Eglolf of Wolfurt, 1327-1330
• Hermann of Arbon, 1330-1361
• Johann Mendel Buren, 1362-1386
• Burkhard of Wolfurt, 1386-1416
• Werner von Reitnau, 1416-1435
• Wilhelm von Mosheim, (1435) 1437-1445
• Nicholas of Marmels, 1438
• Friedrich von Reitnau, 1447-1478
• John Berger, 1478-1483
• George of Erolzheim, 1483-1488
• Melchior of Hörnlingen, 1489-1506
• William of Fulach, 1506-1517
• Johann Jakob Russinger, 1517-1549
• Rudolf Stucki, 1549-1564

• Fridolin Tschudi, 1565-1567
• Johann Jakob von Mosheim, 1568-1570
• Heinrich Weidmann, 1570-1574
• Ulrich (from) Roll, 1574-1575
• Bartholomew Spiess, 1575-1584
• John Heider, 1587-1600
• Michael Saxer, 1600-1626
• Jodok Höslin, 1626-1637
• Beda Fink, 1637-1644
• Justus zinc, 1645-1677
• Boniface Tschupp, 1677-1706
• Boniface to gilgen, 1725-1738
• Ambros Müller, 1725-1738
• Boniface Pfister, 1738-1769
• Benedict Bochsler, 1769-1805
• Joseph Arnold, 1805-1819
• Plazidus Pfister, 1819-1838

Bad Ragaz

The mineral spring in the Tamina gorge was discovered in the Middle Ages. According to legend, she should have been in 1038 for another 1242 two convent servants found by Karl von Hohenbalken. The first bathing facilities were set up in 1242 under Abbot Hugh II of Villingen. Mid 14th century bath houses were built, which were placed astride the Tamina. The first written reference 1382. During the 16th century, the bath was made ​​famous by the presence of Ulrich von Hutten and by the scriptures of Paracelsus about the bathroom of 1535th 1543 let abbot Johann Jakob Russinger a 250 foot long wooden staircase on the rock wall in the Tamina Gorge to create. In the 17th century the Pfäferser source was considered the " Queen of all healing springs ".

By multiple fires and landslides, the original Badeeinrichrungen and the source were destroyed up to 1680, but restored by the monastery from 1704 to 1718. Of these buildings, parts of which are still preserved. In the heyday of the bathroom housed up to 500 guests. After the dissolution of the monastery, the source fell to the Canton of St. Gallen, the 1839/40 line after Ragaz docked, which has since been at the site of the old Bad Ragaz in the Tamina gorge to a renowned spa. The Bad Ragaz, however, continued to operate until 1969. Part of the old, is located in a poor state of repair ends bath was it canceled in 1971, which was also provided for the rest of the building. Thanks to the commitment of the association " Friends Altes Bad Ragaz " from 1975 and the club, the communities Ragaz and Ragaz, Canton and the thermal bath borne "Foundation Altes Bad Ragaz " could the remaining buildings of the bath are restored from 1983 to 1985 in three stages.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the abbey Ragaz shows a white dove flying up to the right on a red background. The dove carries in its beak a red stained wood chip. Thus, a reference is made ​​to the founding legend, which says a pigeon had the Holy Pirmin instructed with a bloody woodchip the construction site of the monastery.

The municipality Ragaz used this coat today as municipal coat of arms. Also, the coat of arms of the neighboring village of Bad Ragaz ( white dove on a blue background) goes back to the Klosterwappen.