Bad Ragaz

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title: "Bad Ragaz" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bad-ragaz", "ski-areas-and-resorts-in-switzerland", "spa-towns-in-switzerland", "cultural-property-of-national-significance-in-the-canton-of-st.-gallen", "populated-places-on-the-rhine"] topic_path: "geography/switzerland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Ragaz" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Swiss town"]

FieldValue
subject_nameBad Ragaz
image_photoBad-Ragaz-Platz.jpg
image_captionBad Ragaz – main square
municipality_typemunicipality
imagepath_flagCHE Bad Ragaz Flag.svg
imagepath_coaBadRagaz-blazon.svg
cantonSt. Gallen
iso-code-regionCH-SG
districtSarganserland
coordinates
postal_code7310
municipality_code3291
area25.37
elevation516
population
websitebadragaz.ch
mayorGuido Germann
mayor_title
neighboring_municipalitiesFläsch (GR), Maienfeld (GR), Mastrils (GR), Mels, Pfäfers, Vilters-Wangs
::

| subject_name = Bad Ragaz | image_photo = Bad-Ragaz-Platz.jpg | image_caption = Bad Ragaz – main square | municipality_type = municipality | imagepath_flag = CHE Bad Ragaz Flag.svg | imagepath_coa = BadRagaz-blazon.svg|pixel_coa= | canton = St. Gallen | iso-code-region = CH-SG | district = Sarganserland |coordinates = | postal_code = 7310 | municipality_code = 3291 | area = 25.37 | elevation = 516|elevation_description= | population = | populationof = | popofyear = | website = badragaz.ch | mayor = Guido Germann |mayor_asof=|mayor_party= | mayor_title = |list_of_mayors = | places = | demonym = | neighboring_municipalities= Fläsch (GR), Maienfeld (GR), Mastrils (GR), Mels, Pfäfers, Vilters-Wangs | twintowns =

Bad Ragaz is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

It is the home of a famous natural spring and is a popular spa and health resort destination.

History

Bad Ragaz is first mentioned circa 843 as Ragaces.

As plain Ragaz, the locality was originally a farming village. It had over the centuries a certain importance owing to its position on the south–north route between Italy and Germany. Its history was closely linked to that of the Benedictine Pfäfers Abbey, an important monastery dating back perhaps to the eighth century, which was the dominant landholder around the village and the principal rights holder. The residence of the Prince Abbot of Pfäfers, a building known as the Hof Ragaz served as the premises of the local governor or Statthalter, a position exercised by the Abbey. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Pfaefers.jpg" caption="[[Pfäfers Abbey]] and Bad Ragaz"] ::

One of the most notable events in the local chronicles is the Battle of Ragaz, an episode in the Old Zürich War of the years 1440–1446 fought between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over which of them should inherit the interests and lands of Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg, who had died in 1438 intestate and heirless. The armed clash took place at Ragaz on 6 March 1446.

The village suffered over time from the outbreak of several fires and also from flooding which struck, for example, in 1750, 1762 and 1868. However, in the nineteenth century there was an upturn in local fortunes. Financial struggles had prompted the last Abbot of Pfäfers, Plazidus Pfister, to request that Pope Gregory XVI secularize the abbey, a request that was granted on 20 March 1838. On 20 November 1838. The Canton of St. Gallen then took over the Abbey's estates, including the local hot springs, which began to be increasingly exploited for tourism thanks to a project connecting the springs with the village. This was to lead eventually, in 1937, to a change of name to Bad Bagaz, and increasing orientation of the local economy towards catering for health spa clientel.

It was in Ragaz that around the year 1880 the Swiss novelist and author of children's stories, Johanna Spyri (1827-1901), penned the engaging story of Heidi, a 5-year-old girl living with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. Written, as the title page announced, to be a book "for children and those who love children", it become known throughout the world. Modern-day Ragaz is also proud of the fact that it was the retreat where the Bohemian-Austrian poet and author Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) towards the end of his life reputedly wrote part of his poetic work the Duineser Elegien (Duino Elegies), in particular the seventh Elegy with its famous lines Hiersein ist herrlich... (To be here is splendid ...).

Geography

Bad Ragaz has an area, , of 25.4 km2. Of this area, 45.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 34.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (10.1%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The municipality is in the Sarganserland Wahlkreis of Bezirk Sargans. The spa and recreation village is in the south-east of the canton at the end of the Tamina valley. It lies on the north–south and east–west routes over the Graubünden Alps. Until 1937 Bad Ragaz was known as Ragaz. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/ETH-BIB-Bad_Ragaz_aus_300_m-Inlandflüge-LBS_MH01-002816.tif" caption="Aerial view from 300 m by [[Walter Mittelholzer]] (1922)"] ::

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Dove volant displayed Argent beaked and membered Or having a sprig Gules in the beak.

Demographics

Bad Ragaz has a population (as of ) of . , about 25.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 122 are from Germany, 144 are from Italy, 508 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 59 are from Austria, 1 person is from Turkey, and 312 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown by 8.3%. Most of the population () speaks German (84.9%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (4.3%) and Italian being third (2.9%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 4,184 speak German, 30 people speak French, 141 people speak Italian, and 45 people speak Romansh.

The age distribution, , in Bad Ragaz is:

::data[format=table]

AgeNumbers
0–910–19
503626
10.2%12.7%
::

there were 765 persons (or 15.5% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,181 (or 24.0%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 2,390 (or 48.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 290 (or 5.9%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 36 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 24 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 35 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 208 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 40.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (21.4%), the FDP (13.7%) and the SP (12.7%).

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Bad Ragaz about 68.9% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Out of the total population in Bad Ragaz, , the highest education level completed by 1,070 people (21.7% of the population) was Primary, while 1,975 (40.1%) have completed Secondary, 558 (11.3%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 175 (3.6%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.

The historical population is given in the following table: ::data[format=table]

YearPopulation
1800954
18501,366
18801,993
19001,866
19502,584
19703,713
19904,325
::

Personalities

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Nb_pinacoteca_stieler_friedrich_wilhelm_joseph_von_schelling.jpg" caption="Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling 1835"] ::

Bad Ragaz is also closely associated with the fictional character Heidi.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Village Baths () with the water cure rooms () at Bartholoméplatz 1, the chapel of St. Leonhard and the ruins of Freudenberg Castle are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

File:Freudenberg Plan.jpg|Floorplan of Castle Freudenberg File:Freudenberg Ruine.jpg|View of the castle site File:Bad Ragaz-Gottfried-Honegger-265.jpg|Chapel of St. Leonhard

Economy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/BadRagaz01.JPG" caption="Railway station"] ::

, Bad Ragaz had an unemployment rate of 1.62%. , there were 103 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 23 businesses involved in this sector. 687 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 71 businesses in this sector. 1,911 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 244 businesses in this sector.

the average unemployment rate was 3.0%. There were 331 businesses in the municipality of which 64 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 248 were involved in the third.

there were 1,510 residents who worked in the municipality, while 1,217 residents worked outside Bad Ragaz and 1,189 people commuted into the municipality for work.

The headquarters of the gas analysis, detection, and control instrument manufacturing company INFICON is located in Bad Ragaz.

Religion

From the , 2,862 or 58.1% were Roman Catholic, while 1,105 or 22.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. There was 1 individual of the Christian Catholic faith; 249 individuals who belonged to the Orthodox Church; and 64 individuals who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 Jews, and 166 Muslims. Forty-two people belonged to another church (not listed in the census); 277 belonged to no church, were agnostic or atheist; and 161 did not answer the question.

Transport

Bad Ragaz sits on the Chur–Rorschach railway between Sargans and Chur and is served by local and regional trains at Bad Ragaz railway station.

is a small airport serving private flights and recreational gliding.

Wartensteinbahn was funicular between Bad Ragaz and Wartenstein, 206 m above (1892-1964).

Climate

Between 1961 and 1990 Bad Ragaz had an average of 120.5 days of rain or snow per year and on average received 830 mm of precipitation. The wettest month was August during which time Bad Ragaz receives an average of 109 mm of rain or snow. During this month there was precipitation for an average of 12.7 days. The driest month of the year was October with an average of 49 mm of precipitation over 12.7 days.

|location = Bad Ragaz, elevation 496 m, (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1940–present) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 18.5 |Feb record high C = 23.8 |Mar record high C = 24.0 |Apr record high C = 28.1 |May record high C = 33.7 |Jun record high C = 35.8 |Jul record high C = 36.2 |Aug record high C = 36.8 |Sep record high C = 33.1 |Oct record high C = 27.6 |Nov record high C = 24.0 |Dec record high C = 21.2 |Jan record low C = -21.2 |Feb record low C = -26.5 |Mar record low C = -15.6 |Apr record low C = -5.7 |May record low C = -2.4 |Jun record low C = 0.9 |Jul record low C = 5.1 |Aug record low C = 2.7 |Sep record low C = 0.1 |Oct record low C = -5.0 |Nov record low C = -14.8 |Dec record low C = -22.0 | Jan high C = 4.5 | Feb high C = 6.2 | Mar high C = 11.3 | Apr high C = 15.7 | May high C = 19.8 | Jun high C = 22.9 | Jul high C = 24.6 | Aug high C = 24.1 | Sep high C = 19.7 | Oct high C = 15.5 | Nov high C = 9.5 | Dec high C = 5.2 | year high C = 14.9 | Jan mean C = 1.1 | Feb mean C = 2.3 | Mar mean C = 6.5 | Apr mean C = 10.4 | May mean C = 14.4 | Jun mean C = 17.6 | Jul mean C = 19.1 | Aug mean C = 18.8 | Sep mean C = 14.9 | Oct mean C = 10.9 | Nov mean C = 5.8 | Dec mean C = 2.0 | year mean C = 10.3 | Jan low C = -2.1 | Feb low C = -1.3 | Mar low C = 2.2 | Apr low C = 5.6 | May low C = 9.7 | Jun low C = 13.0 | Jul low C = 14.7 | Aug low C = 14.6 | Sep low C = 10.9 | Oct low C = 7.2 | Nov low C = 2.5 | Dec low C = -1.1 | year low C = 6.3 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 70.6 |Feb precipitation mm = 56.3 |Mar precipitation mm = 77.7 |Apr precipitation mm = 72.3 |May precipitation mm = 99.4 |Jun precipitation mm = 119.0 |Jul precipitation mm = 124.8 |Aug precipitation mm = 145.6 |Sep precipitation mm = 94.5 |Oct precipitation mm = 80.1 |Nov precipitation mm = 79.3 |Dec precipitation mm = 79.3 |year precipitation mm = 1098.9 | Jan snow cm = 33.2 | Feb snow cm = 32.9 | Mar snow cm = 18.5 | Apr snow cm = 1.8 | May snow cm = 0.7 | Jun snow cm = 0.0 | Jul snow cm = 0.0 | Aug snow cm = 0.0 | Sep snow cm = 0.0 | Oct snow cm = 0.1 | Nov snow cm = 12.0 | Dec snow cm = 24.6 | year snow cm = 123.8 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 9.1 | Feb precipitation days = 7.7 | Mar precipitation days = 10.1 | Apr precipitation days = 9.2 | May precipitation days = 11.7 | Jun precipitation days = 12.7 | Jul precipitation days = 12.9 | Aug precipitation days = 13.4 | Sep precipitation days = 9.8 | Oct precipitation days = 8.7 | Nov precipitation days = 9.4 | Dec precipitation days = 10.0 | year precipitation days = 124.7 |unit snow days = 1.0 cm | Jan snow days = 4.9 | Feb snow days = 4.7 | Mar snow days = 3.5 | Apr snow days = 0.6 | May snow days = 0.1 | Jun snow days = 0.0 | Jul snow days = 0.0 | Aug snow days = 0.0 | Sep snow days = 0.0 | Oct snow days = 0.0 | Nov snow days = 2.2 | Dec snow days = 4.2 | year snow days = 20.2 | Jan humidity = 76 | Feb humidity = 73 | Mar humidity = 70 | Apr humidity = 66 | May humidity = 69 | Jun humidity = 71 | Jul humidity = 72 | Aug humidity = 74 | Sep humidity = 75 | Oct humidity = 76 | Nov humidity = 77 | Dec humidity = 78 | year humidity = 73 | source 1 = NOAA{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241211033506/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/5.5/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Switzerland/CSV/BadRagaz_06686.csv | archive-date = 11 December 2024 | url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/5.5/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Switzerland/CSV/BadRagaz_06686.csv | title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020 | work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020) | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = 11 December 2024}} |source 2 = MeteoSwiss (snow 1981–2010){{cite web | url = https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/product/output/climate-data/climate-diagrams-normal-values-station-processing/RAG/climsheet_RAG_np9120_e.pdf | title = Climate Normals Bad Ragaz (Reference period 1991−2020) | publisher = Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss | access-date = 21 January 2022}}{{cite web | url = https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/product/output/climate-data/climate-diagrams-normal-values-station-processing/RAG/climsheet_RAG_np8110_e.pdf | title = Climate Normals Bad Ragaz (Reference period 1981−2010) | publisher = Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss | access-date = 21 January 2022}} Infoclimat (extremes){{cite web | url = https://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie/normales-records/1991-2020/bad-ragaz/valeurs/06686.html | title = Normales et records pour la période 1991-2020 BAD RAGAZ | publisher=Infoclimat | access-date = 14 September 2025}}

References

References

  1. [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/infothek/nomenklaturen/blank/blank/gem_liste/03.html Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz] published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office {{in lang. de accessed 23 September 2009
  2. {{usurped
  3. [http://www.statistik.sg.ch/home/publikationen/ksgmz/Ausgabe_2009.html Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen – Ausgabe 2009] {{in lang. de accessed 30 December 2009
  4. [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/regionen/02/key.html Swiss Federal Statistical Office] {{webarchive. link. (5 January 2016 accessed 6 January 2010)
  5. [http://www.statistik.sg.ch/home/portraet/Regionen-Gemeinden/reggem-quer.html Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen] {{webarchive. link. (9 September 2010 {{in lang). de accessed 30 December 2009
  6. {{HDS. 1352. Bad Ragaz
  7. [http://www.bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch/internet/bs/de/home/themen/kgs/kgs_inventar.html Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance] {{webarchive. link. (1 May 2009 21.11.2008 version, {{in lang). de accessed 6 January 2010
  8. [http://www.statistik.sg.ch/home/themen/b03/arblos.html St Gallen Canton statistics-Unemployment] {{in lang. de accessed 30 December 2009
  9. [http://www.statistik.sg.ch/home/themen/b03/BZ/TabellenBZ08.html St Gallen Canton statistics-Businesses] {{webarchive. link. (7 July 2011 {{in lang). de accessed 31 December 2009
  10. [http://www.statistik.sg.ch/home/themen/b03/erwerb.html St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters] {{webarchive. link. (22 July 2009 {{in lang). de accessed 31 December 2009
  11. "About us – INFICON".
  12. "Bad Ragaz Aerodrome – home".
  13. "Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990". Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology – MeteoSwiss.

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bad-ragazski-areas-and-resorts-in-switzerlandspa-towns-in-switzerlandcultural-property-of-national-significance-in-the-canton-of-st.-gallenpopulated-places-on-the-rhine