The best traffic-free bike rides around Lichtensteig

From the Urnäscherstrasse you have a great view of the village of Hemberg, which is settled on the wide mountain ridge. On the lush green pastures in between, cows often graze, whose milk is processed into fine Appenzeller cheese. What an idyll!

Very beautiful, well-preserved old and stately houses.

Beautiful view of the mountains

Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist & St. John the Evangelist - Fischingen Monastery History and Architecture According to sources from around 1200, Abbot Waltram had the first church and monastery complex built between 1138 and 1144. This Romanesque church was followed by the Gothic church, probably after a monastery fire dated 1440. Before the convent chapter decided to begin construction of a new church in 1685, Abbot Joachim summoned the Einsiedeln architect Brother Kaspar Moosbrugger, whose contribution to the planning, however, is difficult to estimate. The northern nave underwent its first alteration in connection with the Idda Chapel, built from 1704 onwards. The arcades opening onto the chapel were decorated with stucco. The extension of the church to the east and the construction of the cheerful organ choir in 1753 onwards had a more dramatic effect. which forms the transition to the spacious Baroque convent buildings from the same period. Somewhat later, the chancel was remodeled in the emerging style of early classicism. The Fischingen monastery church underwent extensive renovations between 2000 and 2008. The parish could not possibly cover the high costs of this renovation, approximately CHF 8 million, alone. Text / Source: Catholic Parish of St. Idda Fischingen, Kurhausstr. 29a, 8374 Dussnang https://www.kath-fischingen.ch/de/unser-pastoralraum-0/unsere-kirchen/st-johannes-der-taeufer-st-johannes-der-evangelist

Kloster Fischingen / A foray through history In 1138, Bishop Ulrich II of Constance founded a private episcopal monastery in his territory on the upper reaches of the Murg river and settled it with Benedictine monks from the Petershausen monastery in Constance. After an initial period of prosperity, the Fischingen convent numbered barely more than 10 monks until the 17th century. In addition to tending to monastic life, they were responsible for pastoral care in the incorporated parishes of Dussnang (with Au), Bichelsee, Sirnach, and Bettwiesen, as well as in Fischingen. The Reformation led to the extinction of monastic life in Fischingen for several years. Abbot Heinrich Stoll from Zurich converted to the new doctrine in 1526 and married; the remaining four monks soon followed his example. It was the Catholic cantons of the Imperial Diet who brought about the re-establishment of the monastery by postulating P. Markus Schenkli, the vicar of the Abbot of St. Gallen, as the new Abbot of Fischingen in July 1540 at the Diet in Baden. After initial personnel and financial difficulties, the spirit of reform prevailed in Fischingen, and the monastery experienced its long flourishing period throughout the Baroque era with an average of 30 monks. Under the pious Abbot Joachim Seiler of Wil (1672–1688), a prolific spiritual writer and sought-after preacher, monastic spirituality reached such a peak that it was praised in a visitation report with the words "more to be recommended than to be improved". The construction of the new monastery church (1685–1687) also falls within Abbot Joachim's time. Abbot Nikolaus Degen of Lachen (1747–1776) is considered Fischingen's great Baroque building abbot. He extended the church with the Upper Choir in the ornate Rococo style and had the symmetrically designed, beautifully shaped monastery buildings erected to the east and south of the quadrangle. To the west, due to the monastery's high debt burden, the earlier buildings from 1577 and 1635 remained. Abbot Augustin Bloch of Oberbuchsiten (1776–1815) skillfully guided the monastery through the turmoil of the French Revolution and had the Lower Choir of the church remodeled in the early Classical style. Text / Source: Verein Kloster Fischingen, old website https://www.benediktiner-fischingen.ch/unsere-geschichte/

Brauerei Kloster Fischingen AG Enjoy beers in the only Swiss monastery brewery The Brauerei Kloster Fischingen AG is the first and only Swiss monastery brewery. It brews a range of high-quality beers in the Ökonomiegebäude under the PILGRIM brand – a reference to the countless pilgrims who came to Fischingen over the centuries on the Way of St. James. Text / Source: Kloster Fischingen, 8376 Fischingen https://klosterfischingen.ch/

St. Katharinakapelle - Kloster Fischingen Built in 1635 - Restored from 1998 - 2000 and placed under federal protection. Behind this door lies a true gem. Step inside and let yourself be enchanted by the atmosphere. Meditations, evening prayers, or early masses regularly take place there. Text / Source: Kath. Pfarrei St. Idda Fischingen, Kurhausstr. 29a, 8374 Dussnang https://www.kath-fischingen.ch/de/unsere-kirchen-4/st-katharinakapelle-fischingen-kloster

Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist & St. John the Evangelist - Fischingen Monastery History and architecture According to sources from around 1200, Abbot Waltram had the first church and monastery complex built between 1138 and 1144. This Romanesque house of God was followed, probably after a monastery fire dated 1440, by the Gothic church construction. Before the convent chapter decided in 1685 to begin construction work on a new church, Abbot Joachim brought in the hermit architect Brother Kaspar Moosbrugger, whose contribution to the planning is difficult to assess. A first modification was made to the northern nave in connection with the St. Id a Chapel, built from 1704 onwards. The arcades opening to the chapel were adorned with stucco. The extension of the church to the east and the construction of the cheerful organ choir in 1753 onwards had a more decisive effect, forming the transition to the spacious Baroque convent buildings of the same period. Somewhat later, the chancel was reshaped in the emerging style of early Classicism. The Fischingen monastery church had to undergo a comprehensive renovation between 2000 and 2008. The high costs of this conversion, around 8 million Swiss francs, could not possibly be borne by the parish alone. Text / Source: Kath. Pfarrei St. Idda Fischingen, Kurhausstr. 29a, 8374 Dussnang https://www.kath-fischingen.ch/de/unser-pastoralraum-0/unsere-kirchen/st-johannes-der-taeufer-st-johannes-der-evangelist