Rieden, Switzerland

Kaltbrunn is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Kaltbrunn railway station is a railway station situated in the municipality of Kaltbrunn in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is located on the Uznach to Wattwil line, close to the western portal of the 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi) long Ricken Tunnel.

Gommiswald is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Rieden and Ernetschwil merged into the municipality of Gommiswald.

The Ricken Tunnel railway accident was a railway accident on October 4th, 1926 that killed nine people through carbon monoxide poisoning in the Ricken Tunnel between Kaltbrunn and Wattwil.The Ricken Tunnel lies under the Ricken Pass and is part of the single-track SBB-operated Uznach–Wattwil line. It is 8,604 metres (28,228 ft) long, with a cross-sectional area of 25.5 square metres (274 sq ft) and a constant incline of 15,75 ‰. The tunnel lacks artificial ventilation. The tunnel was widely disliked by railway personnel during the era of steam operation due to the danger of gas buildup. The crew of passenger train #3616, which left Wattwil at 11:05 AM on October 4, 1926, and arrived in Kaltbrunn at 11:20 AM, did not notice any significant gas buildup in the tunnel.

Benken is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Mount Zion Abbey (German: Berg Sion) is a Premonstratensian nuns' abbey in the municipality of Gommiswald in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.The Abbey was built on scenic rocky spur above the Gaster valley in 1761 by the priest Joseph Helg. It was built along a pilgrimage route from the churches on Lake Constance to Einsiedeln Abbey. The Loretto Chapel was built in 1763-65. A year after the chapel was completed three sisters moved from Schussenried Abbey in Germany to the new Abbey. The Abbey's farms and private donations supported the residents and allowed it to grow rapidly and by 1778 there were 52 sisters living there. The unique longitudinal main building grew organically through several expansion projects. Following the 1798 French invasion, the creation of the Helvetic Republic and then the Canton of St. Gallen in 1803, the Abbey went into decline. Under the Republic and the new Canton they lost many of their farms and were sometimes forced to billet troops. It rebounded between 1846-76 under the leadership of the matron Gertrude Hüsler from Steinhausen and confessor Benedict Frey from Wettingen Abbey. By 2000 there were 18 nuns living in the Abbey, under the Bishop of St. Gallen.

Benken railway station (German: Bahnhof Benken) is a railway station situated in the municipality of Benken in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is located on the Rapperswil to Ziegelbrücke line.

The Ricken Pass is a mountain pass in the canton of St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland. At a maximum altitude of 790 metres (2,590 ft), it connects the Linth valley and the Toggenburg.The pass is crossed by a road, which has a maximum gradient of 9%. The Ricken Tunnel, an 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi) long rail tunnel, runs under the pass.

Ernetschwil is a former municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Rieden and Ernetschwil merged into the municipality of Gommiswald.

Schänis Abbey (German: Kloster Schänis) was founded in the 9th century. It was situated in the present town of Schänis in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It was a house of secular canonesses of the nobility (German: adliges Damenstift) and was dissolved in 1811.

Schänis railway station (German: Bahnhof Schänis) is a railway station in the municipality of Schänis in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is on the Rapperswil to Ziegelbrücke line. It is one of two railway stations in the Gemarkung of Schänis, the other being the much larger Ziegelbrücke railway station at the border to Canton Glarus.

Oberricken Pass (el. 906 m.) is a mountain pass in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It connects the lower Ricken Pass with the villages Walde and Rüeterswil, in the municipality St. Gallenkappel.