Appenzeller route - Rankweil-St. Pterzell
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This is the route to St. Peterzell, used by pilgrims from Vorarlberg or Tirol. There, they join the Swiss section of the Way of St. James (“St. Gallen Route – Via Jacobi Nr. 4) coming from Rorschach and heading for Einsiedeln.
The Appenzell can be characterized as a hilly country with much pastureland, with scattered villages, and lying at an altitude of 800m on the average. This sparsely populated but well cultivated land, far from the hustle of life and of mass tourism is especially suitable for pilgrims looking for quietness and inner peace. The small rural villages along the route with the colourfully painted wooden houses typical for that region invite the pilgrim to make a stop and to meet with the industrious and tradition-conscious people. The Way of St. James through the Appenzell country with its uniqueness is not only apt to give the pilgrim a contemplative mood, but makes her or him wish to go barefoot. This route is described by Winfried Erbach from Thun. In May 2007, he and his wife went on a pilgrimage on this section and collected much information material. A choice of photos is contained in the picture gallery. Dr. Witschi from Herisau has kindly checked the correctness of the routing and has acted as manuscript reader.
Important pointer
The route of the Way of St. James from Rankweil to St. Peterzell through the Vorarlberg, the “St.Galler Rheintal”, and the Appenzell is described in an abbreviated form. The descriptions were edited and checked by helpers and association members in voluntary work after having travelled the route themselves, and based on the state as encountered then. The accuracy of the contents and in particular the conformity with the official Way of St. James way-posting cannot be guaranteed by the association “jakobsweg.ch” and the authors, also not in the sense of a product liability. In case of discrepancies, pilgrims are therefore asked in any case to follow the official “Jakobsweg” way-posts, and to advise us of such errors. Thank you.
Texts: Winfried Erbach, Joe Weber and Klaus Augustiny (manuscript reader).
Translated from German by Hans Bamert.
Pictures: Wolfgang Hörer, Winfried Erbach and others.
Copyright: Verein jakobsweg.ch