Easy hikes and walks around Stausee Gigerwald

Coming from Tamins, the ascent is very steep, mostly 15-17%. Easily doable with an MTB or e-bike. With a touring bike or road bike, the fun factor is low due to the gradient, despite beautiful views. The road is technically easy, mostly paved, but some sections are also gravel, which is why narrow tires are also unsuitable. Coming from Vattis, the pass is easier, but steep at the end! Going down to Tamins, very good brakes are recommended, especially if you are riding with luggage.

A place steeped in history with lots of interesting information about the settlement of the Calfeisen and Taminatal by the Walser people.

I rode from the Klunkel Pass towards Vättis. There's a comfortable, fairly flat descent. The area is very beautiful. I took a short nap on a bench in the shade by the stream.

Pretty little hamlet at the back of the lake. Lots of tourists stop here by car or bike

Journey through time in the Calfeisental 1745 First judicial decision on how the maintenance costs of the footpath from Vättis to St. Martin are to be divided between the communities of Zizers, Vilters, Malans and Ragaz (the alpine owners). 1898 The local community of Vättis invites a meeting for a road project Vättis - Calfeisental. 1906 Start of road construction and completion to Gigerwald. A policeman is deployed in Vättis for the construction period to ensure law and order during the road construction. 1908 Inauguration of the road, cost estimate CHF 200,000, actual costs CHF 300,000. Malans, Zizers, Ragaz, Pfäfers and Vättis elect the first road maker Josef Flavian Kohler. Daily wage CHF 3.50, working hours 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. minus 2 hour breaks. 1928 First discussions about whether the road from Vättis should be opened to motor traffic. Only the local community of Vilters advocates a yes, but with a travel fee of CHF 15.00 per trip, the daily allowance for the roadworker at the time was CHF 6.50. Text / Source: A website by Weebly. Managed by WEBLAND.CH https://www.vaettis.ch/zeitreise-calfeisental.html

Vättis history Settlements in Vättis (then Vethin) 1274, A church is mentioned in Vättis for the first time. 1282, The half of the village to the right of the Tamina is given as a fief by Abbot Rudolf of Disentis to Baron Heinrich of Rhäzüns. 1695, Construction of today's Vättis parish church begins. Text / Pastoral Unit Bad Ragaz Taminatat Parish Church of St. Anian, Vättis - Pastoral Unit Bad Ragaz Taminatal (setamina.ch)

Walser settlement St. Martin, Calfeisental St. Martin - the former Walser settlement - the charm and romance of this village alone are worth a visit. There are small wooden houses to discover, a water mill, the church and a restaurant with fresh bread from the wood-fired oven From around 1300 to 1652, the wild Calfeisental west of Vättis was inhabited by free Walsers all year round. The Walsers, who originally came from the Obergoms area in Valais, may have immigrated from their farms in Bargis, above Flims, via the Trinser Furgga. The Sutter family were the last year-round residents to leave the Calfeisental in the direction of Vättis. German field names that remind us of their settlement remain in the Calfeisental: Rathausboden, Ammansboden, Ebni, Egg, Friedhöfli and Chilchli. The main witness to the Free Walsers is their little church of St. Martin, which was built around 1312 according to dendrochronological research. St. Martin was the religious centre not only of the Walsers in the Calfeisental, but also of their fellow people in the Weisstannental and probably of other Walser farms in the wider area, for example on the Vättnerberg. The fact that the Walsers are emigrated Valaisans is clearly evident in old documents, but is also evident in the Walser language and culture. In the Walser church of St. Martin, the figure of the "Madonna and Child" and the cross of Christ date from the time of the Walser immigration. Opposite the church is the two-storey Walser house, the year 1588 of which is still legible. Scattered throughout the Calfeisental, especially on the sunny side, there are countless "hostetes": depressions in the ground that indicate earlier buildings. The only two Walser buildings still standing in the Calfeisental are in St. Martin. The little church is owned by the Catholic parish of Vättis. It is still used for church services. Access: from the dam only every hour for 20 minutes. A visit is worthwhile - time has stood still here and you feel like you are in an open-air museum. Walser settlement St. Martin Text / Source: Municipality of Pfäfers, Hintergasse 4, 7312 Pfäfers https://www.pfaefers.ch/sehenswuerdigkeiten/10205

Sankt Martinskirchli, St. Martin, Calfeisental 1312 Construction of the little church Saint Martin, Bishop of Tours, has always been popular as a saint among the Walser people The Martinsalp (Brändlisberg) was first mentioned as a church property in 1472 1652 The eternal light was extinguished in the church. Since then, the priest of Vättis has been saying some masses in the little church during the summer. Even today - as in ancient times - on the Sunday after St. Jakob (July 25th) there is the parish fair in St. Martin with mass, music and subsequent Chilbi. Sunday is called “Jakobi – Sunntig” In 1858 the chapel was united with the Vättis parish A thorough restoration began in 1955. The little church was then placed under monument protection. The current altar dates from 1709. At the altar are the statues of St. Martin with child and St. Pirmin, founder of Pfäfers Monastery. They are all replicas, the originals are in the museum in Vättis. Text / Source: Support Association, "Pro Walsersiedlung St.Martin and Calfeisental", Taminastrasse 16, 7310 Bad Ragaz https://www.sanktmartin.online/geschichte