Lying peacefully in the Calfeisental valley, embedded in the picturesque landscape, is the former Walser settlement of St. Martin. It is almost as though time has stood still here and it feels like being in an open-air museum: little wooden houses, a water wheel, gravel paths, tubs of flowers, the tiny church and a restaurant serving freshly baked bread from the wood-fired stove - the charm and romance of the place alone makes a visit worthwhile.
From Bad Ragaz you first go through the Tamina and Calfeisen valleys, past the Gigerwaldstausee reservoir which, depending upon the light, brings to mind a Norwegian fjord, and finally you reach St. Martin, a small Walser settlement of wooden houses and St. Martin's Church which gave the settlement its name.
From about 1300 until 1652 the free Walsers lived here, about 100 of them. In the tiny, Walser Church of St. Martin the figure of "Madonna and child" and the Cross stem from the time of the Walser migration. Opposite the little church is the two-storey Walser house, with the building date of 1588 still visible. These days, a restaurant, popular with tourists and walkers alike, can be found in the former sacristan's house, as well as a few lovingly furnished double rooms and a dormitory all available to be rented. The little church is open to visitors.
Tours carried out by the Verein Pro Walsersiedlung St. Martin:
1. Tour of St. Martin and Church:
Duration: 30 minutes
Groups: up to 26 persons
Price: package price of CHF 50.- per group
Combined with an audio-visual presentation (lasting ca. 50 minutes), additional package price of CHF 70.- per group.
2. Guided tour to the Weltrekordtanne (world's tallest pine tree) and the Walser cemetery (short walk):
Duration: ca. a half day
Groups: up to 20 persons
Price: package price of CHF 100.- per group.
3. Guided tour from St. Martin to Alp Sardona
Duration: 1 day
Groups: up to 20 persons
Price: package price of CHF 150.- per group
Further tours and combination with a tour of the Gigerwald reservoir dam or a pleasant meal in Restaurant St. Martin are available on request.
May to October.
Closed in winter.
By bus from Bad Ragaz Railway Station via Vättis to the Staumauer Gigerwald (reservoir dam). One way road to St. Martin 3km.
By car also via Bad Ragaz - Vättis. In Vättis, the Calfeisental branches off to the right. Follow the road to the Staumauer Gigerwald (reservoir dam). There are parking spaces on the dam. One way road to St. Martin 3km.
Suitable for cars and mini buses up to a height of 2.6m:
One way road between Staumauer Gigerwald and St.Martin: From 09.00 to 09.20 every full hour direction St. Martin
From 09.30 to 09.50 every half hour direction Staumauer (dam)
Until 18.00.
Time required
Time required:
1/2 Tag - 1 Tag
specials:
familienfreundlich
während Feiertagen geöffnet
geeignet für Gruppen / Vereine
Chr. + D. Lampert-Anrig
7315 Vättis
Tel. +41 (0)81 306 12 34
Fax +41 (0)81 723 63 07
chirchli-hitsch@bluewin.ch
www.sankt-martin.ch
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