Pfäfers

View on Ragaz from the castle Wynegg.

Ragaz is a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen in the constituency Sarganserland. The municipality consists of the villages Ragaz, Furggels ( on the St. Margaret Berg), Vadura, Bläs, Valens, and Vasön Vättis.

• 6.1 Tourism
• 6.2 traffic

Towns

Ragaz

The fraction Ragaz includes the village of Ragaz itself as well as the hamlet of St. Margret mountain and Vadura. Ragaz is located at about 800 m above sea level at the entrance of the Tamina Valley. It has around 600 inhabitants.

The most important employers with a total of 245 employees is the Klinik St. Pirminsberg for psychiatry, psychotherapy and addiction treatment. Here mentally ill people from the southern part of the canton of St. Gallen and the Principality of Liechtenstein are treated. The hospital has 143 beds St. Pirminsberg. Besides this, the agriculture and forestry as well as small businesses numerous jobs.

In Vadura is the headquarters and the equalization tank Mapragg the power plants Sarganserland AG. The pumped storage power plant produces an annual average of 444 million kWh of electrical energy.

Worth seeing is the former monastery church, which was built in 1694 in Baroque style. Ragaz is also the starting point for the hike to the Tamina Gorge and Old Bad Ragaz. Suitable for hiking is also the valley of St. Margret mountain, can also be reached by post bus. In winter, the ski lift Tristeli and cross-country skiing in operation.

Attractions

• Ruin Wartenstein
• Altes Bad Ragaz with Paracelsus Museum and Bath Museum
• Therme Bad Ragaz
• Tamina Gorge
• Natural Bridge
• Former fortress Furggels

Vättis

Vättis is the Tamina Valley, at about 940 m above sea level. It has around 460 inhabitants. The main economic activities are agriculture and forestry, as well as the industry.

Local attractions include the Dragon Hole Museum, which exhibits the finds from these prehistoric reference. In Gaspus the valley station of the cable car is after the Vättnerberg. From there, mountain walks.

The Calfeisental behind half of Vättis is also a popular hiking area. Worth the reservoir are Gigerwald the power plants Sarganserland AG, with a 147 m high dam and the former Walser settlement of St. Martin.

Attractions

• Drachenloch; highest prehistoric site
• Dragon Hole Museum
• Walser Settlement St. Martin
• Walser house on the Alp Ebni
• Nature reserve Calfeisental and hunting area Grey Horns
• Glarus thrust; UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Silver Mine Gnapperkopf

Valens

Valens is the Tamina Valley, about 920 m above sea level. It is, together with the field Balen gas aura around 400 inhabitants.

The most important employer is the Clinic Valens. She specializes in rheumatology and neurology. The treatments are supported by therapy in the healing thermal water from the Pfäfers. The spa is open to the public.

Besides this, the agriculture and forestry as well as small businesses numerous jobs.

Valens is a starting point for mountain hikes. One of the routes leading to the Tamina Gorge and Old Bad Ragaz.

Local church Vasön

The local church is Vasön Taminatal and part of the political community Ragaz (SG), It is about 920 meters above the sea. It is one has about 85 inhabitants. Taking it in the village Vasön has about 65 residents who are 20 others in the surrounding hamlets 2, Long Meadow and Tschenner. Main industries are: agriculture ( 7 companies: 4 farming and fattening farms, 2 sheep farms, one -rearing establishment ) Forestry (1), Schindlerei (1 ) Retail (1 ) carving (1 ) Weaving (1 ) and catering ( 1). Vasön is the starting point for many hikes.

Coat of arms

According to legend, Saint Pirmin wanted to found a monastery in the area of land Quart. When the workers cut the trees down to a cut of them unhappy in the leg. While the priests took care of the wounded, suddenly fluttered a snow- white dove brought about, picked up a blood-splattered wood chip and flew away. The monks followed her, and found her again in the Tamina Valley, where they had settled on a tree. Saint Pirmin saw this as a sign from God and decided to leave the monastery at this point, because where today's Ragaz is to build.

This story is depicted in the ceiling paintings of the monastery church Kustorei Ragaz.

History

The Tamina can look back on a long history of settlement. In Drachenloch whether Vättis stone tools have been found of cavemen and bear bones, which are likely to be around 50,000 years old. Some of the finds are on display in the local museum Vättis. Importance was Ragaz through the founding of the Benedictine monastery, in the first half of the 8th century. It was during more than 1000 years and was disbanded in 1838. Since 1847, the monastery buildings are used as a psychiatric hospital.

In the 14th century settled in the Calfeisental the Walser. Even today you can visit the settlement of St. Martin and the Walser House on the Alp Ebni.

Around the year 1240 the thermal spring was discovered in the Tamina gorge. The patients who were bathing in the healing waters were let down by ropes into the narrow gorge. In 1630, a bathhouse at the exit of the gorge was created, which was extended in the 18th century. 1840, the road was built by Ragaz, and in consequence, the cure was increasingly carried out there. Today, the oldest baroque bath-house in Switzerland, a restaurant and a museum are in Bad Ragaz, housed.

Two important milestones of the 20th century in economic terms, were the opening of the Clinic Valens in 1970 as well as the power plants Sarganserland in 1975., The power plants Sarganserland AG operate a pump storage power plant to which the reservoir Gigerwald and equalization tanks, including headquarters in Mapragg belong. Both companies are major employers for the population of the municipality.

Population

Attractions

Economy

Tourism

The landmark of Ragaz is the baroque former monastery church, which was built in the late 17th century. From Pfäfers it goes up into the high valley of St. Margret mountain, the view point Piz Alun or to continue on the Alp Salaz direction Calanda. Down it goes over the natural bridge to the Tamina Gorge and the warm source.

From the rugged Vättis Calfeisental is achievable. On the Vättnerberg a cable car. From there Drachenloch is reached, it was already inhabited in the Stone Age.

Also of Valens from you can descend into the Tamina Gorge and visit the old bath house with the museum and the Paracelsus memorial.

Visitors to the Tamina Valley in winter, is on the St. Margret mountain in front of a ski lift and groomed slopes. From the terrace of the restaurant at the top station there is a view of the Rhine Valley and the mountains of Graubünden. Cross-country skiing is possible on both the St. Margret mountain and in Vättis.

Traffic

Ragaz and Valens are independently connected Bad Ragaz. In 2010 a road bridge between Valens and Ragaz has been configured as a rehabilitation of the road between Bad Ragaz and Valens due to the unstable slip area along the road would be uneconomical. In February 2012, the project was approved by the Cantonal and in March 2013 was the start of construction of Tamina bridge.

From 1892 to 1964 Pfäfers was reached in summer by cable car Ragaz Wartenstein. In addition, the municipality postbuses, also served from Bad Ragaz.

Education

In the municipality there are three Ragaz kindergartens, three primary schools and a senior center. Depending on a kindergarten and a primary school located in Ragaz, Vättis and Valens. The secondary and the secondary school attended by the students in Ragaz.