Bad Ragaz

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. 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…

Geography

Bad Ragaz has an area, , of . 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).

Most-observed species

• Narrow-leaved Ragwort

  Senecio inaequidens DC. · Magnoliopsida
  10,743
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  8,182
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  5,201
• Scotch Argus

  Erebia aethiops Esper, 1777 · Insecta
  4,033
• Butterfly-bush

  Buddleja davidii Franch. · Magnoliopsida
  3,054
• Swiss Brassy Ringlet

  Erebia tyndarus Esper, 1777 · Insecta
  2,829
• Small Tortoiseshell

  Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,757
• Chalk-hill Blue

  Lysandra coridon (Poda, 1761) · Insecta
  2,729

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2026-04-26
  4 km N of Quarten, Switzerland
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 3.8 — 2022-09-01
  2 km WSW of Sevelen, Switzerland
• M 4 — 2020-10-25
  5 km ESE of Ennenda, Switzerland
• M 3.6 — 2020-08-08
  5 km SE of Gramais, Austria
• M 3.8 — 2018-02-01
  4 km N of Innerbraz, Austria