Kolumbansweg Schweiz - 16a. Etappe Balzers - Chur

St. Luzisteig. The north-south axis, which ran over this pass until the 19th century, played an important role in the various wars in European history, because this transition led to the Grisons passes. The pass also formed a section of the Roman road Bregenz-Chur.

Maienfeld. From the 14th century, Walser immigrated to the area and founded several settlements. The old town with remains of the city wall, Brandis Castle and Salenegg Castle (Europe's oldest winery) are among the places worth protecting in Switzerland. Viticulture has played an important role since ancient times.

In the novel Heidi by Johanna Spyri, the community is considered the hometown of this novel character. A visit to the museum above the village is an experience. 

Zita, the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, spent the last years of her seventy-year exile at St. Johannes Stift in Zizers from 1962 until her death in 1989.

Chur is the first city on the Rhine and the oldest city in Switzerland.

Alternatively recommended Stage 16b from Sargans to Chur. A detour from Maienfeld to Bad Ragaz, the world-famous thermal health resort, is worthwhile.

Shortly after the southern exit of Balzers we cross the border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Slightly ascending we reach the St. Luzisteig, a pass at 713 m altitude, which connects Balzers in the Principality of Liechtenstein with the wine-growing town of Maienfeld in the canton of Graubünden.

On the northern side of the pass is the historic fortress of St. Luzisteig with a gate from 1702. A little further on is the Steigkirche, which was first mentioned in 831. The present Gothic building with late Gothic choir was until the beginning of the 15th century the mother church of Maienfeld and Fläsch, equipped with wall paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries.

We now walk through the well-known vineyards of the Bündner Herrschaft and enjoy beautiful views of the Pfäfers on the left bank of the Rhine, high above the valley, with the imposing and widely visible baroque monastery church (built at the end of the 17th century).

PS1: From Pfäfers a path leads towards Vättis with the Drachenloch (finds of tools and bear bones 50,000 years ago) and to St. Martin (Walser settlement). From Vättis, another path leads over the Kunkelspass to Tamins to the Rhine confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein. This crossing already existed in Roman times as a mule track.

PS2: From Bad Ragaz, a pleasant path leads into the Tamina gorge to the thermal spring, where the first bathhouse was built in 1630. Today, the thermal spring serves the world-famous spa town of Bad Ragaz, also known for its triennial Triennial Bad RagArtz outdoor sculpture exhibition.

Jenins. The village lies at the foot of Mount Vilan and belongs to the Bündner Herrschaft, this wine region favoured by the warm foehn wind. The evang. Reformed church under the patronage of Mauritius is mentioned indirectly in a document in 1209.

Malans. Also a wine village of the Graubünden rule. From Malans, a cable car leads up to an alp (1800 m above sea level), from where hikes to Falknis and Vilan can be undertaken. From the terrace of the mountain restaurant you can enjoy a wonderful view of the Rhine Valley and the surrounding mountains.

The church of St. Cassian in Malans originally dates back to the 6th century, was first mentioned in the 12th century and came into the possession of the Bishop of Chur.

Between Malans and Zizers we cross the river Landquart, which flows into the Rhine at the village of the same name. Afterwards we pass the castle Marschlins, originally a moated castle. The extraordinary complex is an episcopal foundation and probably dates back to the middle of the 13th century. A predecessor building cannot be ruled out.

Zizers. The village, located on the main traffic route from Lake Constance to Chur and on to the Graubünden Alpine passes, had its first documentary mention in 824. However, finds from the Bronze and Roman Ages suggest a much older settlement origin.

Chur. The Romans conquered the region in 15 BC and named the province Raetia. Chur was probably founded as early as the 4th century AD as the first diocese north of the Alps. In 451, Asinio had its first documentary mention. In the 6th century, Chur came under Frankish rule. In an early medieval cemetery stood the sepulchral church of St. Stephen, built in the 5th century. Probably in the 8th century, a first building of St. Luzi followed right next to it.