Ricken Pass

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.

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.

The Tweralpspitz is a mountain in the Appenzell Alps, located near Wattwil in the canton of St. Gallen. It is the highest point of the chain situated north of Ricken Pass.

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.

Iberg Castle (German: Burg Iberg) is a partly ruined castle in Wattwil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Wattwil is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil.

Wattwil railway station (German: Bahnhof Wattwil) is a railway station in Wattwil, in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is an intermediate station on the Bodensee–Toggenburg railway, the southern terminus of the Wil–Ebnat-Kappel railway, and the eastern terminus of the Uznach–Wattwil railway (the latter includes the 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi) long Ricken Tunnel). It is served by local and long-distance trains.

Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (Wahlkreis) of the canton of St. Gallen (SFOS number 1727).

Lichtensteig is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

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.