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Pfäfers is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. The villages Pfäfers, St. Margrethenberg, Vadura, Valens, Vasön and Vättis belong to the municipality.


History

The ''Taminatal'' can look back on a long history of settlement. In the ''Drachenloch'' above Vättis stonetools of cavemen and bones of bears, perhaps 50,000 years old, were found. Examples from the find are on display in the local museum in Vättis. Pfäfers reached importance through the foundation of the
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery,
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. Gallen, Switzerland. Situated at the junction of the Tamina and Rhine valleys, it f ...
, in the first half of the 8th century. It existed for over a thousand years and was closed in 1838. Since 1847 the abbey premises have been used as a mental institution. Pfäfers is first mentioned in 762 as ''abbas de Fabarias''. In 1247 it was mentioned as ''Pheuers'' and in 1288 as ''Pfaevaers''. In Romansh it is known as ''Faveras''. In the 14th century Walser settled in the Calfeisental valley, now the location of the Gigerwaldsee reservoir, formed when the Gigerwald was completed in 1976. Until today the colony of St. Martin and the Walserhouse on the alp ''Ebni'' can be visited. Around the year 1240 the thermal spring in the ''Taminaschlucht'' ("gorge of the Tamina") was discovered. The sick people who bathed in the curative water were let down the narrow gorge on ropes. In the year 1630 a bath-house was constructed at the mouth of the gorge. The road to Ragaz was built in 1840 and in the following years the cure business was increasingly relocated to there. Today, Bad Pfäfers ("Pfäfers Spa"), the oldest
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
bath-house in Switzerland, houses a restaurant and a museum. Two important milestones of the 20th century in economical aspects were the opening of the clinic Valens in 1970 and of the power plants Sarganserland in 1975. The clinic Valens is specialised in rheumatology, neurology and orthopaedy. The power plants Sarganserland run a pumped storage hydro power plant. The storage lake Gigerwald and the compensation reservoir Mapragg with the control centre in Mapragg belong to the power plant. Both companies are important employers for the population of the community.


Demographics

Pfäfers has a population (as of ) of . , about 10.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 37 are from
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 4 are from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 106 are from ex-
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, 17 are from
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and 63 are from another country.Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen - Ausgabe 2009
accessed 30 December 2009
Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -6.7%. Most of the population () speaks German (93.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.7%) and Portuguese being third ( 1.3%).
accessed 6 January 2010
Of the Swiss national languages (), 1,636 speak
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 3 people speak French, 5 people speak
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, and 8 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in Pfäfers is; 259 children or 14.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 269 teenagers or 15.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 181 people or 10.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 277 people or 15.8% are between 30 and 39, 255 people or 14.5% are between 40 and 49, and 185 people or 10.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 154 people or 8.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 116 people or 6.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 51 people or 2.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 7 people or 0.4% who are between 90 and 99.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009
there were 197 persons (or 11.2% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 303 (or 17.3%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 1,026 (or 58.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 82 (or 4.7%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 5 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 14 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 2 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 125 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (24.6%), the SP (14.9%) and the FDP (10.6%). The historical population is given in the following table:


Education

In the municipality of Pfäfers there are three kindergartens, three primary schools and a high school. One kindergarten and one primary school each are located in Pfäfers, Vättis and Valens. The highschool in Pfäfers is visited from children of the whole municipality. In Pfäfers about 68% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''
Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). Out of the total population in Pfäfers, , the highest education level completed by 352 people (20.1% of the population) was
Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
, while 620 (35.3%) have completed their secondary education, 133 (7.6%) have attended a
Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
school, and 82 (4.7%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.


Economy

, Pfäfers had an unemployment rate of 0.61%. , there were 142 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 57 businesses involved in this sector. 86 people are employed in the
secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there are 24 businesses in this sector. 843 people are employed in the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
, with 45 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 1.1%. There were 129 businesses in the municipality of which 26 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 47 were involved in the third. there were 513 residents who worked in the municipality, while 311 residents worked outside Pfäfers and 420 people commuted into the municipality for work.


Religion

From the , 1,300 or 74.1% are
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, while 217 or 12.4% belonged to the
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. Of the rest of the population, there are 6 individuals (or about 0.34% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 30 individuals (or about 1.71% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 3 individuals (or about 0.17% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 60 (or about 3.42% of the population) who are
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic. There are 10 individuals (or about 0.57% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 67 (or about 3.82% of the population) belong to no church, are
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
or
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 61 individuals (or about 3.48% of the population) did not answer the question.


Coat of arms

The
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the municipal
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Gules a Dove volant Argent membered of the first having a sprig in the mouth.'' According to a legend, Pirmin wanted to build a friary in the region of Landquart. While the workers cut down trees, one of them accidentally injured his leg. When the monks cared for the injured man, a snowwhite dove appeared. It took a blood sprinkled splint and flew away. The monks followed the dove and found it in the Taminatal where it had alighted on a tree. Saint Pirmin took this as a sign from God and decided to build the friary on this place where it is now located This anecdote is illustrated on the ceiling paintings of the church in Pfäfers.


Leisure


Summer

The landmark of Pfäfers is the baroque minster at the entrance of the village. The southernmost village in the canton of St. Gallen is Vättis.


Winter

Cross-country skiing is possible in St. Margrethenberg as well as in Vättis.


Traffic

Pfäfers and Valens are independently from each other connected with
Bad Ragaz Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy o ...
. The excellent road network is crucial for this spacious valley. The bus system connects every village with Bad Ragaz with its access to the railway system. The Taminabridge over the ''Taminaschlucht'' connects Pfäfers and Valens since 2017. Wartensteinbahn was
funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...
between Bad Ragaz and Wartenstein (1892-1964).


Geography

Pfäfers has an area, , of . Of this area, 29.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (38.9%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Sarganserland ''Wahlkreis''. It stretches from the Taminatal south to the Kunkelspass and to the west into the high Calfeisental valley. The municipality has some of the largest elevation differences of any municipality (Tamina canyon , Ringelspitz ). It consists of the village of Pfäfers at the mouth of the Tamina Valley on a plateau above the Rhine river, the villages of Valens, Vasön and Vättis as well as the
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
of St. Margrethenberg and Vadura.


Localities


Pfäfers

The fraction Pfäfers contains the village Pfäfers itself and the hamlets St. Margrethenberg and Vadura. Pfäfers lies on about above sea level at the entrance of the ''Taminatal''. It counts about 600 inhabitants. The most important employer with a total of 245 employees is the clinic ''St. Pirminsberg'' with its fields psychiatry, psychotherapy and addiction treatment. Mentally ill people from the south part of the Canton of St. Gallen and from
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
were treated there. Further employments are provided from agriculture and forestry as well as the small trade. The control centre and the equalising reservoir ''Mapragg'' of the power plants Bad Sarganserland are located in Vadura. The pumped storage hydro power plant produces 444 million kWh of electricity on average per year. Places of interest * Ruin Wartenstein * Old Bath Pfäfers with Paracelsus museum and bath museum * Hot spring Bath Pfäfers * Taminaschlucht (canyon) * Natural Bridge * former fort Furggels


Vättis

Vättis on about above sea level and has approximately 460 inhabitants. The most important branches of trade are agriculture and forestry as well as the industry of the second sector. A place of interest is the ''Drachenloch'' museum. Finds from the prehistorical place of discovery are exposed there. In ''Gaspus'' is the lower station of the cable way to ''Vättnerberg'' situated. Numerous hiking tours to the superb world of the alps start in ''Vättnerberg''. Behind Vättis lies the Calfeisental valley, which is as well a popular hiking area. Places of interest * Drachenloch - highest prehistorical place of discovery * Drachenloch museum * Walser colony St. Martin * Walser house on the Alp Ebni * Nature protection area Calfeisental valley and hunting ban area Graue Hörner * Glarner Hauptüberschiebung (geological); Candidate of UNESCO-World natural heritage * Silver mine Gnapperkopf


Valens

Valens ( above sea level), including the hamlets ''Balen'' and ''Gassaura'', has inhabitants. This village could be described as a sun terrace and has preserved its natural character. The clinic Valens, which is specialised in rheumatology, neurology and orthopaedics, is the most important employer. The treatments are supported by therapies with the water of the hot spring. The bath is also accessible for the public.


Vasön

Vasön counts about 100 inhabitants and lies on 920 metres above sea level. Agriculture and forestry are really important in this small village. Several hiking tours start in Vasön.


Heritage sites of national significance

The Old Bath Pfäfers, the ruins of Wartenstein Castle, the former
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
Abbey, and the
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
caves at ''Drachenloch'' in Vättis are all listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 06-Jan-2010
File:Wartenstein Pfäfers3.jpg, Wartenstein Castle ruins File:Pfaefers Kloster.jpg,
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. Gallen, Switzerland. Situated at the junction of the Tamina and Rhine valleys, it f ...


References


External links


Website of the Fraction of VättisWebsite of the Clinic ValensAltes Bad Pfäfers
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfafers Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen