Ragatz
Encyclopedia
Ragatz, also known as "Old Baths Pfäfers" or "Old Baths of Pfäfersin" in the 19th century and earlier, was a famous watering-place in the Swiss canton of St. Gall
Canton of St. Gallen
The Canton of St. Gallen is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population of . , the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling...

, situated on the left bank of the Rhine, and by rail 22 km north of Coire or 98 km S.E. of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. It stood at a height of 509 m, at the entrance to the magnificent gorge of the Tamina
Tamina
The Tamina River in Switzerland originates near the Egghorn . First her course follows a North to South direction through the Marchtal....

, about 5 km up which by carriage road were the extraordinarily placed Baths of Pfafers (674 m). Since 1840 the hot mineral waters of Pfäfers
Pfäfers
Pfäfers is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The villages Pfäfers, St. Margrethenberg, Vadura, Valens, Vasön and Vättis belong to the municipality.-History:...

 were conducted in pipes to Ragatz, which is in a more pleasant position. Consequently Ragatz much increased in importance since that date. In the churchyard is the grave of the philosopher Friedrich Schelling (d. here in 1854).

About 3 km by road above Ragatz are the 17th-century buildings of the great Benedictine monastery, Pfäfers Abbey
Pfäfers Abbey
Pfäfers Abbey , also known as St. Pirminsberg from its position on a mountain, was a Benedictine monastery in Pfäfers near Bad Ragaz, in the canton of St...

, to which all this region belonged until 1798; midway between them and Ragatz are the ruins of the 14th-century castle of Wartenstein.

The monastery and baths were, after 1969, converted into museums and are open to the public.

External links

  • http://www.spavillage.ch/en/news.cfm?category=MediaH&subcat=NewsH&id=31837
  • http://www.badragaz-tourismus.ch/en/navpage-CultureAttractions-CultureAttractions-7041.html
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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