Bad Ragaz
Description
Bad Ragaz is a municipality in the Wahlkreis 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. One of the largest spa hotels is the Grand Hotel Quellenhof.
History
Bad Ragaz is first mentioned about 843 as Ragaces. Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst died here in 1901.
Geography
Bad Ragaz has an area, as of 2006, of 25.4 km2 (9.8 sq mi). 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 WahlkreisBez. 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.
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.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Village Baths (German: Dorfbad) with the water cure rooms (German: Trinkhalle) at Bartholoméplatz 1, the chapel of St. Leonhard and the ruins of Freudenberg Castle are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
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Floorplan of Castle Freudenberg
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View of the castle site
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Chapel of St. Leonhard
Religion
From the 2000 census, 2,862 or 58.1% are Roman Catholic, while 1,105 or 22.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 249 individuals (or about 5.05% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 64 individuals (or about 1.30% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 2 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who are Jewish, and 166 (or about 3.37% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 42 individuals (or about 0.85% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 277 (or about 5.62% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 161 individuals (or about 3.27% of the population) did not answer the question.
Personality
- Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling (1775-1854), German philosopher, died in Bad Ragaz
