Pastor Künzle path Wangs

Themed circular hike with herb picture boards from Wangs Rappagugg via Vilters and back. In the former spa house of Bad Wang (today the Fatima holiday resort) there are still original southern harbours and bathing facilities.

Short biography of Pastor Künzle 1857-1945
He had already acquired the basis for his comprehensive knowledge of the medicinal plants of his homeland and their application in his early childhood, when his father Jakob Anton Künzle, as a gardener, showed him the various plants, gave him their Latin names and also revealed their origins to him.
Later, Pastor Künzle collected recipes from old, tried and tested remedies and studied the behavior of the animals. Although scientists ridiculed him, he unflinchingly drew his conclusions from the observations. In 1914, he held the first herb market in Wangs. Pastor Künzle had the herbs collected here, as he found that the herbs in the foehn area in the Wangs region are significantly stronger than those in the area of the north wind. When the dreaded flu raged in 1918 and death swung the scythe everywhere, the herbalist fought with herbal teas against the "sinister fellow" who did not succeed in luring even a single patient away from the "miracle doctor".

The healing successes of the popular priest caused a great stir and made him famous. More and more people turned to the herbalist and asked him for help and healing, so that he was finally faced with the decision to continue as a pastor or to devote himself entirely to the sick. He decided to take up herbal medicine and settled in Zizers. There was no lack of patients in the new home, but there was a lack of understanding on the part of the authorities of the canton of Graubünden. He was fined for his help to the sick, and learned circles spoke of superstition and botching in connection with the herbal healing method. This led to the famous vote on the medicinal herb initiative in the canton of Graubünden.

The people were unequivocally in favor of herbal medicine. The opponents of the herbalist did not yet admit defeat, as they hoped that the "miracle doctor" would fail the exam they had set. When the 65-year-old priest was summoned for the exam, the examinee asked the high lords whether he should answer the questions in Latin or Greek, which embarrassed the examiners. Künzle passed the exam with flying colors. Now the way was clear for healing. The healing method of Pastor Künzle with the 3F's, for solid - liquid - volatile are still used today. Firm stands for plant-based active ingredients for the organs, liquid for the organism and volatile for the body's energy balance. Pastor Künzle was buried on 11 January 1945 in the parish of Wangs.