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Rankweil - Appenzell Appenzell - St. Peterzell Chapel St. James / Kronberg St. Peterzell - Wattwil Wattwil - Neuhaus   Chapel St. James Neuhaus
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After crossing Wattwil - partly along the Thur - the path leads steeply uphill again to Iberg Castle. On a board there you can read the history (shortened):

Stich aus dem Jahr 1830 It is not surprising that the Counts of Toggenburg and the abbots of the monastery of St. Gallen, whose landed estates were colorfully mixed, often faced each other as rivals. Around the year 1240, the abbot had a castle built above Wattwil by his then servant from the Iberg family. At that time, the fortress Iberg was supposed to secure the extremely important pass crossings over the Ricken and the Laad and thus the rights of the abbot and to supervise every warlike action of the count. Hardly had the work been completed when Count Kraft I attacked the fortress. In order to bring the Iberg back into his hands, the abbot built around 1253 on the eastern side of the valley, in the forest wilderness of Pfanneregg (on the way from Thurtal via Hemberg to Appenzell, which at that time was still an abbey) the fortress of Bärenfels. Already in 1259 the abbot retook the castle Iberg. Later on, the abbots and the count's house fought several times over the possession of the Iberg and the hotly contested fortress was also surrounded by other war events.

Burg Iberg


The history of the decay of Iberg begins around 1710 with the turmoil before the Toggenburg War. At the beginning of the 18th century, feudatories settled in the castle and the fortress became a farmhouse and inn. Since no one took care of the maintenance of the building, its inhabitants moved away from the damaged building at the beginning of the last century and the castle stood empty for about two decades. And - as we read in the history written by chaplain Kobler about the Iberg - then came the black day, when Jakob Schwander's lack of understanding and the indifference of his fellow citizens turned the once so proud fortress into a desolate heap of ruins. In 1835, factory owner Schwander had the enormous roof truss demolished and all the wood and bricks taken away, furious that the community rejected his proposal to take over the castle as a poorhouse. Defencelessly exposed to the weather, the walls crumbled. In 1883 the castle ruins became the property of the municipality by donation. Today, the tower rebuilt in 1902 on a splendid hill west of the village reminds of the past, eventful times.

Iberg
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Iberg
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Iberg view
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Castle keep, balcony, view towards Laadpass - course of the Way of St. James


Churfirsten

View from the castle Iberg: In the background the still snow-covered Churfirsten


ascent to the Laad pass

Ascent to the Laad Pass (October 2017)


Signpost at Laadpass

The climb ends at the Laad Pass (Heid 990 m)

The "Heid" marks the highest point of the Laad crossing between Thurtal and Lindthgebiet. A wayside shrine invited travelers and pilgrims to rest and pray.


From now on it's downhill ...


Walde

... to the village Walde with a baroque parish church St. Antonius (built 1836/37)

Walde
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church Walde, interior view
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Altar picture
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Village square Walde
lake Zuerich

When we reach Rüeterswil lake Zurich appears. Rapperswil and the lake dam are recognizable.


Cross and dalia

Cross in a garden full of dalia


Ausblick

autumn view


Rüeterswil chapel Statue of St. James in Rüeterswil

This beautiful statue of St. James is in the chapel in Rüeterswil, which we visited, of course.


St. Ursula

The chapel is dedicated to St. Ursula. The picture behind the altar shows her with her companions.

She is the city saint of Cologne.


way to St. Gallenkappel

On the way to Sankt Gallenkappel


St. Gallenkappel

Shortly after, we reach St. Gallenkappel. We visit the baroque Grubenmann Church.


St. Gallenkappel church, interior view

Inside it looks very baroque. The two figures on the altar (center) are Laurentius and Gallus.

Sankt Gallenkappel
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Sankt Gallenkappel
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Way to Neuhaus

Way from St. Gallenkappel to Neuhaus


chapel of St. James in Neuhaus

There is a chapel of St. James in Neuhaus


Orientierungstafel

In front of the chapel this board informs about the further variants of the path:


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previous stage Appenzell Way

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Appen­zell Way

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