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
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
village of
Bad Ragaz, situated on the left bank of the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
, and by rail 22 km north of
Coire or 98 km S.E. of
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. It stood at a height of 509 m, at the entrance to the magnificent gorge of the
Tamina, 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 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
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, 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.
Johanna Spyri's classic book ''
Heidi'' is briefly set in Ragatz.
References
*
External links
Spa Village
Geography of the canton of St. Gallen
Bad Ragaz
{{StGallen-geo-stub