Thur waterfalls

Unterwasser (English: Underwater) is a village in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, situated at the confluence of the two streams forming the upper Thur (known as Säntisthur and Wildhausthur). Formerly part of Wildhaus municipality, it has since 2010 been part of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann by merger of Wildhaus and Alt St. Johann. It is a relatively small ski resort, and many of its trails are shared with nearby Wildhaus. Iltiosbahn, a funicular leads to Iltios and the aerial cableway to Chäserrugg. The toponym was first recorded in the 15th century as under dem Wasser , or "below the water". Its population was 685 as of 2010 (down from 751 in 1990; historical population: 81 in 1827). The village was owned by the counts of Montfort in the earlier Middle Ages, later by St. Johann Abbey, and after 1555 by St. Gall Abbey. Ski jumper Simon Ammann — winner of four gold medals in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics, and World Champion 2007 — comes from Unterwasser.

Schwendisee is a small lake above Wildhaus on the slopes of the Churfirsten, in Toggenburg, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Besides the main lake (Vorderer Schwendisee), there is a smaller lake nearby (Hinterer Schwendisee). Sediment cores from the lakes have been studied and provide a record of the climate of the last 600 years.Schwendisee is a combination of two words - ‘Schwendi’ and ‘see’ where Schwandi refers to the glacier that melted about 1,400 years ago to form the lakes and ‘see’ translates to lake in English. The elevation of the lake is about 1,150 metres above sea level. Schwendisee is nestled in moorland where the waterbody is divided into the front Schwendisee and the rear Schwendisee separated by strip of forest. The larger Vorderer Schwendisee is open to visitors for fishing, swimming and hiking. It is about 250m long and 150m wide. A broadwalk extends to the middle of the lake to allow visitors to enter the water. Both lakes are surrounded by dense reeds and marshes and also have small creeks feeding the flora. Visitors can find barbeque facilities at either side of the lake and the Hotel Seegüetli on the northern end of the lake.

St. John's Abbey in the Thurtal (German: Kloster St. Johann im Thurtal) was a Benedictine monastery originally established in Alt St. Johann in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, in the mid-12th century. The oldest written record of it is dated 4 October 1152, when Pope Eugene III took the monastery into his protection. The pope confirmed the monastery's possessions and free election of its abbot and Vogt. On 24 October 1178 Pope Alexander III confirmed the abbey's extended possessions. In 1227/1228, the king became Vogt of the abbey. In December 1231, Emperor Frederick II issued a Golden Bull confirming his obligations as Vogt of the abbey. The abbey owned numerous estates in Toggenburg and in the Rhine valley: St. Johann, Stein, Nesslau, Kappel, St. Peterzell and Mogelsberg; and in Vorarlberg in Austria, near Feldkirch, in Klaus, Götzis and Altach.The abbey also frequently bought land in the territory which is now the principality of Liechtenstein, most notably the prominent Red House in Vaduz, which it purchased in 1525 from the heirs of the medieval owners, the Vaisli family.The abbey's high point was during the 14th century. It survived the Reformation, but lost its independence in 1555, when it became a priory of St. Gall's Abbey.In 1626 the buildings were severely damaged by fire, and the monks were afflicted by a mysterious illness and the community moved along the valley to a new location at Sidwald near Nesslau, since then known as Neu St. Johann. On the site of the old monastery a parish church was built, with a priest's house.The new monastery buildings in Nesslau, which were completed by 1680, were in a magnificent Rococo style. Toggenburg was an area of mixed denominations, and the priory was an instrument of the Counter-Reformation under the leadership of the Prince-Abbots of St. Gallen.The priory was dissolved in 1805. The former monastic church became the Roman Catholic parish church of the parish of Neu St. Johann. The remaining buildings now accommodate a remedial educational centre known as the Johanneum.

Alt St. Johann is a village in the Toggenburg region, since 2010 part of the municipality Wildhaus-Alt St.Johann in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland (the former municipalities of Alt St. Johann and Wildhaus merged on 1 January 2010).

Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It was formed on 1 January 2010 through the merger of Alt St. Johann and Wildhaus.

Wildhaus (High Alemannic: Wildhuus) is a village and former municipality in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, since 2010 by merger with Alt St. Johann part of the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann. The reformer Huldrych Zwingli was born in Wildhaus in 1484. His birth house can still be visited.

Wildhaus Pass is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the canton of St. Gallen in Eastern Switzerland. The main road culminates at 1,090 metres, while the pass itself lies at an elevation of 1,027 metres above sea level. It connects Gams in the Rhine valley and Unterwasser and Wattwil in the Toggenburg. The pass lies between the Säntis and the Churfirsten massifs. The pass road has a maximum grade of 12 percent. There is a ski resort at the summit in the municipality of Wildhaus.

The Grenzchopf (2,193 m) is a mountain of the Appenzell Alps, overlooking the Schwägalp Pass on the border between the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen. Located 2 kilometres west of the Säntis, the Grenzchopf is one of the highest summits of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. It is also its southernmost point.

Chäserrugg (or Käserrugg) is a mountain in Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann municipality, Toggenburg, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, rising to 2,262 m. It is the easternmost of the "seven peaks" of the Churfirsten, the other six being, running east to west, Hinterrugg (2,306 m), Schibenstoll (2,234 m), Zuestoll (2,235 m), Brisi (2,279 m), Frümsel (2,263 m), Selun (2,205 m). In spite of its being counted among the "seven peaks", it has a modest prominence of just 14 m, forming part of the ridge ascending to Hinterrugg. Part of Toggenburg's ski resort, it is reached from Unterwasser (911 m) by Iltiosbahn, a funicular opened 1934 to Iltios (1,339 m), and from there by aerial lift (opened 1972). The mountain's name translates to "cheesemaker's ridge" and is properly the name of the ridge ascending towards it from the north, beginning at Ruggschöpf at about 1,800 m and was only transferred to the "peak" when the "seven Churfirsten" were systematized in the late 19th or early 20th century; in the 19th century, there was also a fashion of etymologizing the name of the Churfirsten range as Kurfürsten "prince-electors", which occasionally inspired a name variant Kaiserruck "emperor's back" for Chäserrugg.

The Hinterrugg (or Hinderrugg) is the highest peak of the Churfirsten group, located in the Appenzell Alps. It overlooks the town of Walenstadt and the lake in the canton of St. Gallen. The summit is easily accessible via the Chäserrugg cable car station (2,262 metres), above Unterwasser in Toggenburg. The Hinterrugg is a well-known location for BASE jumping.

The Schibenstoll (or Scheibenstoll) is one of the peaks of the Churfirsten group, located in the Appenzell Alps. It lies between the valley of Toggenburg and Lake Walenstadt in the canton of St. Gallen. The summit is easily accessible by a trail on the northern side.

The Alpstein are a subgroup of the Appenzell Alps in Switzerland. The Alpstein massif is in Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen. Despite it being rather low when compared to other Alpine peaks – the highest mountain is the Säntis at 2502 metres – the Alpstein, due to their northern "outpost" position only a short distance from Lake Constance (nearly 30 km) are relatively tall when compared to the surrounding area. The range also includes the Altenalp Türm as the northernmost summit above 2,000 metres in Switzerland.