Switzerland - Wildhaus, Churfirsten

Wildhaus is a rural village, whose houses are scattered in a broad valley between the Churfirsten (main image) and the Alpstein mountains (PiP). The village is located on the Wildhaus Pass between the Rhine valley and Unterwasser in Toggenburg. With an altitude of 1.090 metres it is the uppermost village in canton St. Gallen.

The precipitous rock formations of the seven Churfirsten contrast sharply with the gentle landscape on the valley floor and are the natural boundary between Toggenburg and Sarganserland. The limestone ridge is running from east to west with seven peaks formed by erosion. To the south it has a much more vertical drop of hundred metres towards Lake Walen.

The seven peaks of the Churfirsten are (from left to right): Chäserrugg, Hinterrugg, Schibenstoll, Zuestoll, Brisi, Frümsel and Selun. With a height of 2.306 metres is the Hinterrugg the highest one.

The name is a plural, indicating the peaks forming the historical boundary of the bishopric of Chur. It has historically also been folk-etymologized as Kurfürsten, i.e. the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire who in the later medieval period (until 1648) numbered seven, which in turn encouraged the count of seven main or "official" peaks.