Schwägalp

Schwägalp
	Schwägalp
Pass height	1278 m above sea level M.
expansion	Pass road
Built	1935
Mountains	Alpstein
	profile
	Map (Appenzell Ausserrhoden)
Coordinates	741 512 / 235566 coordinates: 47 ° 15 '21 " N , 9 ° 18' 30" O ; CH1903: seven hundred and forty-one thousand five hundred and twelve / 235566

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The Schwägalp Pass ( 1278 m above sea level ) is located in Eastern Switzerland between Nesslau-Neu St. Johann in Obertoggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen and Urnäsch in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden . The actual apex of the road with 1299 m above sea level. M. is located a little southwest of it in the area of the municipality of Nesslau . The Berggasthaus Passhöhe is located a little below the highest point at the crossroads to the valley station of the Säntis cable car .

Geography and name

The pass is bordered by two mountains of different heights: in the east the Säntis ( 2501 m above sea level ), in the west the Hochalp ( 1530 m above sea level ).

The name of the pass crossing comes from the name of the alpine landscape to the east of it, although the area directly at the pass crossing used to belong to the Nesslauer Wideralp . In the dialect, the eponymous alp is called ['ʃwɛgalp], medieval documents write Sweigalpe (approx. 1280) ~ Swaigalb (approx. 1335). The name is derived from an outdated word “Schweige” meaning “cattle pasture”, whereby the replacement of -ei- by -ä- is a characteristic of the local Appenzell dialect.

The dairy on the Schwägalp ( 1,360 m above sea level ) can be reached via a junction from the street crossing at Sibenbrünnen . The alp, which is several square kilometers in size, is located in the area of the municipality of Hundwil (AR) on the north-western slope of the Säntis ( 2502 m above sea level ) and is the starting point of the Schwägalp – Säntis cable car (LSS).

The alpine area is divided into the Grosse Schwägalp directly below the Säntis massif and the Kleine Schwägalp north of it at the foot of the Nosshalden. The partly quite flat alpine landscape has large wetlands in which the source streams of the Urnäsch arise.

The Schwägalp moorland and the Säntis area are listed in the federal inventory of landscapes and natural monuments of national importance .

tourism

The first aerial cableway to the Säntis summit was built in 1935 after several projects had failed to reach the Säntis from Wasserauen or Unterwasser SG with a Säntis cable car. The 21 kilometer long pass road from Urnäsch was built at the same time to bring tourists comfortably to the train. In the past, the only connection between the two valleys was the mule track over the somewhat shorter and deeper Chräzerenpass around one kilometer west of the Schwägalppass and a footpath over Sägen to Grossgarten . A postbus course leads from Urnäsch to Schwägalp.

Berghotel Schwägalp in March 2013, canceled in 2016

Because of the Säntis tourism, the Schwägalp is characterized by many car parking spaces and tourism facilities. The Schwägalp itself is - apart from cable car users and hikers - a popular destination for mountain bikers and motorcyclists , and thanks to its easy accessibility by public and private transport, it is a starting point for hikes and mountain tours in the Alpstein and on the mountain ranges to the north , especially over the Spicher and the Hochalp, over the Hinderfallenchopf to Ennetbühl and on the Kronberg south of Jakobsbad . A challenging alpine hiking trail leads from Schwägalp to the Säntis; the Säntisweg was built in 1872.

Several theme trails created by Appenzellerland Tourismus lead through the alpine landscape, offering an introduction to the natural and cultural-historical qualities of the “Schwägalp / Säntis Nature Experience Park”.

Since 1997 there has been a show dairy on the Schwägalp, which is accessible to visitors and which processes milk from various summer farms.

On January 10, 2019, during heavy snowfalls in the Alps, an avalanche hit part of the hotel on Schwägalp, which was newly built in 2015, under the western Säntis flank. The site was previously considered safe from avalanches, but is located in an area that has been designated as endangered. A second avalanche on the Säntis damaged the bottom pillar of the Säntisbahn in the night of January 13-14, 2019. For safety reasons, the public service of the railway had to be suspended for the several months of the repair work.

Schwägalpschwinget

The Schwägalpschwinget is one of the most important mountain wrestling festivals in Switzerland. The first Schwinget on Schwägalp took place in 1921, after a few breaks there were three Schwinget in the 1950s, then only again in 1998 and since 2000 the Schwinget has taken place annually.