Appenzeller Weg

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Rankweil (Vorarlberg, Austria, 468 m) → St. Peterzell (Toggenburg, Canton of St. Gallen, 701 m) — crossing the border from Austria into Switzerland
• Length: 52.6 km
• Elevation gain: ↗ 1,592 m / ↘ 1,360 m — the entire climb takes place between kilometers 12.3 and 19.5 (425 → 1,012 m); however, the highest point isn't reached until the last quarter
• Duration: 3 days (3 stages); 2 days for the more athletic
• Highest / lowest point: 1,126 m on the Tüfenberg (also known as Folenweid) — 419 m on the Rhine at kilometer 9.4: The lowest point on this trail is the state border; the highest is an old church path
• Waymarking: SwitzerlandMobility Regional Route No. 44, Via Jacobi shell on a yellow background, signposted in both directions; opened on May 1, 2008
• Access route: The Jakobsweg Österreich ends in Rankweil—853 kilometers from Wolfsthal on the Slovak border to your front door
• Connection: In St. Peterzell, the Via Jacobi continues toward Wattwil, Rapperswil, Einsiedeln, and Geneva
• Character: A short leg with an unusually high rate of emergency exits (7 of the 12 locations have a train station) — 40 accommodations listed in the database, but only one true pilgrim hostel: the Maria der Engel Monastery in Appenzell

Overview

At 52.6 kilometers, the Appenzeller Weg is the shortest cross-border route in our portfolio—and it connects to two of the longest. The Jakobsweg Österreich ends in Rankweil: 853 kilometers via Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. If you set out from Wolfsthal on the Slovakian border, you’ll end up in Rankweil after 853 kilometers—and you won’t have seen a single meter of Switzerland. These 52.6 kilometers are the stretch that takes you across the border. You’ll walk nine flat kilometers through the Rhine Valley, cross the Rhine at Meiningen at an elevation of 419 meters—the lowest point of the route is the state border—then climb about 590 meters in elevation over seven kilometers into the Appenzell region, and arrive in the evening at Appenzell. Two much easier days will take you through Gonten, Jakobsbad, and Urnäsch to St. Peterzell, where the Via Jacobi takes over: 447 kilometers via Einsiedeln to Geneva.

What the trail saves in length, it makes up for in intensity. In three days, you’ll pass a cross-reliquary with a wooden core dating from the 12th century, brought from Pisa in 1233; a pilgrimage church with arrowslits; a gorge that served as the linguistic boundary between the Alemanni and the Rhaeto-Romans in the Early Middle Ages; the square where, to this day, a canton votes by a show of hands every last Sunday in April; and a train station that owes its name to a St. James chapel dating from 1464. The local place names themselves provide the overarching framework for all of this: Appenzell means “Abbacella”—the abbot’s cell, first mentioned in 1071. St. Peterzell means “cella sancti Petri”—the cell of St. Peter, first mentioned in 1178. And in between lives a people who waged war from 1401 to 1429 to get rid of the abbot. From cell to cell, with a revolution in between—that is the path.

First a war path, then a wedding procession

This corridor was initially a front line—in both directions. On June 17, 1405, at the Stoss, around 400 Appenzell mountain farmers stood against a Habsburg army of about 4,000 men. They waited behind a Letzi, let some of the enemy pass, rolled boulders, and attacked with halberds—and the source explains why this strategy worked: "The Habsburg archers were unable to use their weapons because of the wet weather." Of the approximately 330 dead on the Habsburg side, 80 came from Feldkirch — six kilometers from your starting point. Forty years later, the violence ran the other way: On January 31, 1445, 4,000 warriors from Switzerland crossed the Rhine, plundered Rankweil, and burned down the pilgrimage church. That is why the basilica—from which you set out—stands in a churchyard with defensive walls, covered battlements, and arrowslits. A pilgrimage church designed to withstand gunfire—from the direction you're heading.

And then that same corridor shifted into the civilian sphere—the evidence for this runs deep: In 882, Emperor Charles III granted the Abbey of St. Gallen land in Viktorsberg, overlooking the Rhine Valley, expressly “to provide for pilgrims and the poor”. In 1300, Rankweil received a letter of indulgence issued by three archbishops and nine bishops — twelve issuers for a church on a 50-meter hill. In 1337, the Tumb von Neuburg knights issued a letter of safe conduct "for the protection of pilgrims to Einsiedeln"; no one writes a letter of safe conduct for a path that no one takes. But the church records provide the best proof: From 1719 to 1882, several couples from Appenzell were married in Rankweil every year—in 1753, there were fourteen. For 163 years, the Catholics of Innerrhoden did not travel to their neighboring Reformed country or to St. Gallen to get married, but instead crossed the mountain and the Rhine: 52 kilometers and 1,592 meters of elevation gain, dressed in their Sunday best. The path you're walking down was a wedding path. It was never smooth sailing — a complaint from 1778 documents conflicts between the Reformed residents of Ausserrhoden and the Catholic pilgrims who passed through Urnäsch. The denominational boundary ran right across the village street, yet the pilgrims continued on their way.

You won’t find the name “Jakob” here as a label, but rather as a map. On the northern slope of the Kronberg, at an elevation of 1,515 meters above sea level, there is a spring named after St. James—one of the most famous healing springs in eastern Switzerland in the 19th century. Above it stands the St. James Chapel, first mentioned in a document in 1464; the current chapel, built in 1925, was consecrated on July 25—St. James' Day—and to this day, a mountain Mass is held there around July 25. The spring became a bath, the bath became a train station, and you'll pass the Jakobsbad train station at kilometer 35. First came the saint, then the spring, then the bathhouse, then the train station—the signpost was the last to be added, in 2008. Since May 1, 2008, the corridor has been marked as Regional Route No. 44. First a war trail, then a wedding route, and today Route No. 44—the same 52.6 kilometers.

Other Names

The official name of the trail in Switzerland is Appenzeller Weg, and it bears the number of the SchweizMobil-Regionalroute 44 — indicated by the Via Jacobi shell on a yellow background, in both directions. As seen from the east, it is the Vorarlberg Branch of the Way of St. James: the final stretch of the longer Jakobsweg Landeck–Einsiedeln, which stretches 197 kilometers through the Arlberg, Klostertal, and Walgau regions to Rankweil and continues from there through the Appenzell region. According to the study written by Helmut Tiefenthaler in 2006 on behalf of the state of Vorarlberg and the canton of St. Gallen, researchers simply refer to it as Pilgerweg Rankweil–Einsiedeln. And let’s get one thing straight: There was never a medieval “Appenzeller Weg”—the name dates from 2008, as do the trail markers. What are old, however, are the pilgrimages it connects: those to Rankweil and those to Einsiedeln, which follow the same path in the opposite direction. “Appenzell Way” or “Appenzell Trail” are translations, not names—the proper name remains in German.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not So Ideal For

This route is ideal if you have three days and want to see a lot during that time. It’s clearly marked, signposted in both directions, and has the best “emergency exit” ratio we know of: Seven of the twelve towns along the route have a train station, and between Appenzell and Urnäsch, the Appenzeller Bahnen trains run practically right alongside you. This makes it an excellent first pilgrimage route—and the logical choice for anyone coming from Austria who doesn’t want to skip over Switzerland by train but prefers to enter the country on foot. If you like borders, you’ll find three in a single day here: a national border in the river, a cantonal border on the alp, and a thousand-year-old language border in a gorge.

To be honest, though, it's not for you if you're expecting a network of pilgrim hostels. The database lists 40 accommodations, but these are inns, hotels, and bed-and-breakfasts at Swiss prices—the only real pilgrim hostel is located in the former monastery Maria der Engel in Appenzell. It’s not for you either if you’re looking for that long-distance hike feeling: You’ll cover 52.6 kilometers over three evenings; the first stage, at 27 kilometers with all the climbing, is unfairly difficult; and the third stage runs about 39 percent on asphalt and roads—days like these are planned in advance, not on the go. And if you’re on the trail for the Compostela: this route won’t count toward it. It just takes you to where the long trails continue—that’s exactly what it’s designed to do.

Route & Landscape

The first nine kilometers are flat. From Rankweil, below the pilgrimage basilica on Liebfrauenberg, you walk through Brederis and past the Paspels swimming lake through the Rhine Valley to Meiningen and cross the Rhine there at 419 meters—the lowest point along the entire route is the state border. On the other side, near Oberriet, you walk south at the foot of the Blattenberg, past the Burgruine Blatten and the Hirschensprung, the rocky narrows that used to be the only connecting route on the left bank of the Rhine and, in the early Middle Ages, marked the border with Churratia—the linguistic boundary between the Alemanni and the Rhaeto-Romans, still audible in the dialect today. The trail only skirts the village of Rüthi; at kilometer 12, it turns west, and then the hard part begins all at once: about 590 meters of elevation gain over seven kilometers, passing through the hamlets of Moos and Rehag and Freienbach at 616 meters, through mountain forest via the Strüssler Alp and the Wogalp to the Neuenalp, where the cantonal border with Appenzell Innerrhoden runs. At the top, at 1,016 meters, stands the pilgrimage chapel Maria Hilf zum Bildstein — from there, the route continues via Eggerstanden and Steinegg, across a covered wooden bridge over the Sitter River, down to Appenzell.

From Appenzell on, the route becomes exactly what one imagines this region to be: rolling hills between 700 and 1,126 meters, pastures, scattered settlements, colorfully painted wooden houses—and above it all, the Alpsteinmassiv with the Säntis, which looms over your shoulder for three days without you ever setting foot on it. You follow the old imperial highway toward Gontenbad, walk through Gonten with its St. Verena Church—the place name comes from “gonton,” meaning “puddle,” and refers to the marsh through which the Barfussweg leads to Jakobsbad — then over the Lauftegg saddle (1,003 m) to Urnäsch, the Reformed village through which the Catholic pilgrims passed. The final day follows the old church trail over the Tüfenberg: There, at 1,126 meters, lies the highest point of the trail—not on the Alpstein, but in the last quarter of the route, on a path that people built to get to church. From Schönengrund, the old Toggenburg country road leads down to St. Peterzell at 701 meters, where the Baroque provost church was used jointly by Catholics and Reformed Protestants from 1722 to 1963. First flat, then a single climb, then undulating terrain—no mountain pass, anywhere.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

Three days, and the distribution is unfair: Stage 1 is more than twice as long as Stage 3 and includes practically all the elevation gain that counts—once you’ve completed it, you’ve made it. In contrast, the rest of the route is pleasant: over 60 percent of Stage 2 runs along trails and nature paths, while about 39 percent of Stage 3 is on asphalt and roads. There are no high-alpine sections—no mountain passes, no roped sections—just a long, steady climb on the first day. All distance figures are approximations and are marked “approx.”; the track measurement from our route database yields the following total distance: 52.6 km.

1. Rankweil → Appenzell — approx. 27 km — the big day: flat Rhine Valley, crossing the Rhine at 419 m (state border), then an ascent of about 590 meters in elevation to the chapel Maria Hilf zum Bildstein (1,016 m), descent via Eggerstanden and Steinegg, across the covered Sitter wooden bridge to Appenzell. ↗ approx. 800 m — Be sure to bring water and snacks for the climb.
2. Appenzell → Urnäsch — about 13 km — the easiest stage: the old Reichsstrasse to Gontenbad, Gonten, Barefoot Trail through the Moor to Jakobsbad (Kronberg Cable Car), over the Lauftegg (1,003 m) to Urnäsch. The railroad line remains within reach almost the entire way.
3. Urnäsch → St. Peterzell — approx. 12 km — the old church path over the Tüfenberg (1,126 m, the highest point along the entire route), then via Schönengrund and down the former Toggenburg Country Road to the St. Peterzell provostry.

Fitness enthusiasts can complete the trail in two days (approx. 27 + approx. 25 km)—but the trail’s highest point is in the last third of the second day, when your legs have already covered 18 kilometers. If, on the other hand, you want to take it easy at the start, you can spend the night in Eggerstanden at 892 meters—though there’s exactly one place to stay there and no train station, so you’ll need a confirmed reservation. The best planning tool is the railway: On Stage 2, you can get off at the Gontenbad, Gonten, Jakobsbad, and Urnäsch stops almost anytime—but not on Stage 3; from Urnäsch onward, only the PostBus runs.

Highlights Along the Way

• Rankweil Basilica on Liebfrauenberg — Vorarlberg’s most important pilgrimage site, featuring defensive walls, battlements, and arrowslits since 1445; in the choir, the Silver Cross hangs freely suspended: a 12th-century Romanesque wooden core, brought from Pisa in 1233, set in silver in the 18th century, with a fragment of the Cross inside.
• Meiningen–Oberriet Rhine Crossing — 419 meters: the lowest point along the trail and also the state border.
• Hirschensprung — rocky narrows between Blattenberg and Bismer, formerly the only connecting route on the left bank of the Rhine; in the Early Middle Ages, it marked the border with Churratia and the linguistic boundary between the Alemanni and the Rhaeto-Romans.
• Burgruine Blatten — The keep, dating from shortly before 1270, was destroyed during the French War in 1799; from April through September, the Oberriet Ski Club operates a castle tavern on top of the vaulted cellar—a true place to stop and relax amidst the ruins.
• Kapelle Maria Hilf zum Bildstein (1,016 m) — the highest point of the first day, built out of fear of landslides, not out of gratitude.
• Appenzell — Landsgemeindeplatz with the “Gerichtslinde” (court lime tree): Here, the people of Appenzell Innerrhoden typically vote by a show of hands on the last Sunday in April; in addition to the voting card, men’s proof of voting eligibility is the “Seitenwehr”—a sword that is usually inherited. Women’s suffrage was not granted until a Federal Supreme Court ruling on November 27, 1990. Also worth noting are the colorfully painted wooden houses along Hauptgasse, which were rebuilt after the fire of 1560.
• Kloster Maria der Engel, Appenzell — Founded in 1613 by nine Capuchin nuns; on April 5, 2008, the last five sisters left, and since 2019, volunteers have kept the house open as a guesthouse and pilgrim hostel.
• St. Verena Church, Gonten — A church dating from 1452; until after World War II, it served as the pilgrimage site “Maria zum Trost”; the place name “gonton” (puddle) refers to the marsh in front of it.
• Barfussweg Gontenbad–Jakobsbad — right through this very marsh; at the end, the Jakobsbad train station, with the chain of names leading up to St. James Chapel on Kronberg—first mentioned in historical records in 1464—and to the St. James Spring at 1,515 meters above sea level.
• Appenzeller Brauchtumsmuseum Urnäsch — since 1976, featuring the original Urnäsch Rhod flag from 1350. Urnäsch is Switzerland’s most famous Silvesterchlausen village: Here, the year begins twice—on December 31 and on Old New Year’s Eve, January 13—because in 1589, the Reformed canton of Ausserrhoden refused to let the Pope dictate when it should celebrate its festivals. You’ll come in summer, when nothing is going on—the museum will show you what you’re missing.
• Tüfenberg (1,126 m) — old church path and the highest point of the entire route, located in the last quarter rather than at the beginning.
• St. Peterzell Provostry — “cella sancti Petri,” first mentioned in a document in 1178, a Benedictine provostry under the Abbey of Alt St. Johann; the Baroque church, built in 1722, was used jointly by Catholics and Reformed Christians until 1963—one church, two denominations, 241 years.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The most important feeder route is the Jakobsweg Österreich — and it is the clearest path one can have: It ends exactly where this one begins. 853 kilometers from Wolfsthal on the Slovak border through Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck take you to Rankweil, and that’s where it ends, because beyond that lie the Rhine and Switzerland. The Appenzeller Weg is the section that crosses this border—the handoff is not a man-made construct, but a matter of geography. Those coming from Tyrol may know this section by its longer name: as the Jakobsweg Landeck–Einsiedeln, the line runs 197 kilometers across the Arlberg, the Klostertal, and the Walgau to Rankweil, and from there on to Einsiedeln.

Those who aren’t arriving on foot should get off the train at Rankweil—the town lies on the Vorarlberg Railway between Feldkirch and Bregenz, and long-distance trains stop in Feldkirch. For pilgrims at Lake Constance, an honest note is in order: The Lindau – Héricourt route does start within sight, but it heads in the opposite direction—via Konstanz and the High Rhine to Basel. If you want to go to the Appenzell region instead, travel the nearly forty kilometers from Lindau or Bregenz to Rankweil and start there.

Continue the pilgrimage?

St. Peterzell isn't a destination; it's a junction—and an officially documented one at that: Regional Route No. 44 joins the Via Jacobi, the major Swiss route from Lake Constance through Einsiedeln to Geneva. Specifically, you'll continue from St. Peterzell to Wattwil in Toggenburg and from there toward Einsiedeln — via Rapperswil, taking the Pilgersteg across Lake Zurich and over the Etzel Pass, or via Siebnen as an alternative. In Einsiedeln, you’ll find yourself standing before the Black Madonna, which arrived there in 1466—before the miraculous image of that pilgrimage site, for whose pilgrims the knights of Tumb von Neuburg wrote a letter of safe conduct as early as 1337.

From Einsiedeln on, the Via Jacobi carries you across Switzerland to Geneva. There, the route continues as the Via Gebennensis; in Le Puy-en-Velay, the Via Podiensis begins, and in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the Camino Francés takes over to Santiago. It's about two and a half thousand kilometers from St. Peterzell to the Apostle's Tomb—your 52.6 kilometers were the connecting link that ties Austria and Switzerland together.

Preparation & Practical Information

The best time is May through October. The highest point is at 1,126 meters—not exactly alpine terrain, but the climb on the first day takes you through alpine meadows and forest trails, and it basically always rains in the Appenzell region: On the Säntis, which looms over your shoulder for three days, the annual average precipitation is 2,837 millimeters—it’s the wettest place in Switzerland. So expect rain, not exceptions. As for footwear: Stage 2 consists of over 60 percent trails and natural paths, while Stage 3 consists of about 39 percent paved roads—the best choice is a sturdy, well-broken-in hiking boot.

There are plenty of places to stay, but they aren't albergues: about 40 accommodations along the route—inns, hotels, guesthouses—14 of which are in Appenzell alone. The only true pilgrim hostel is the former Capuchin convent Maria der Engel in Appenzell: 19 rooms in three categories, six of which are specially furnished for pilgrims on the Way of St. James and the Way to Jerusalem; bathrooms on every floor; bed linens and towels provided—simple, quiet, and definitely not a hotel. You must make a reservation in advance at Eggerstanden and Freienbach: There's exactly one place to stay in each of those areas, and neither of them is near the train—you plan around gaps like that in advance, not as you go. The easiest way is to put together your stages and suitable accommodations right in the Camino Ninja App.

You don’t need a pilgrim passport (credencial) here to get into any of the places—there’s no network of hostels that requires it. It’s still a good idea to have one, though: You can get stamps at the Rankweil Basilica, the Maria der Engel Monastery, and the parishes along the route, and you’ll need it on the Via Jacobi anyway. It’s issued by Jakobsweg Schweiz – Compostelle Suisse. The trail is marked as Regional Route No. 44 with the Via Jacobi scallop shell on a yellow background in both directions; mountain trails are marked with red-and-white hiking trail signs. There are no border formalities at the Rhine crossing—but from the middle of the river onward, the world is counted in francs.

What the journey will cost you

Switzerland is expensive, and three days is a short time—that’s the good news. All of the following amounts are estimated ranges for budget planning, not fixed rates (as of August 2026): Expect to spend CHF 110–150 per day if you stay at an inn and have a hot meal in the evening; on a budget, you can manage from CHF 70–90 with a simple room or pilgrim lodging and meals from the village store. A main course at a restaurant costs about CHF 22–35, a cup of coffee CHF 4.50–5.50, and a beer CHF 6–8. The only figure that isn’t an estimate: breakfast at the Maria der Engel Monastery costs CHF 10 per person (as of August 2026) — the house provides room rates on request. The biggest difference is on the first day: If you walk the entire 27 kilometers to Appenzell, you’ll only need two nights’ lodging; if you split the hike in Eggerstanden, you’ll pay for one extra night. For the return trip by public transportation from St. Peterzell (PostBus to Wattwil plus train), roughly calculate CHF 20–35; with a Halbtax subscription, the cost is correspondingly lower—check current prices before booking.

Getting Here

Getting to the start: Rankweil has its own train station on the Vorarlberg Railway between Feldkirch and Bregenz. From Germany, you can travel via Lindau and Bregenz; from Switzerland, via St. Margrethen or Sargans to Feldkirch; and from Austria, take the long-distance trains to Feldkirch and then take the S-Bahn one stop from there. If you’re already in eastern Switzerland, you can alternatively take the train to Oberriet and start walking there—since it was reactivated in 2013, the station has had hourly service in both directions, and a bus has been running between Oberriet and Rankweil since December 2014. However, if you do that, you’ll miss crossing the Rhine and getting your first glimpse of the basilica.

Getting back from the finish: St. Peterzell does not have a train station—Postbuses connect the village with Wattwil (Railway hub in Toggenburg with lines to St. Gallen, Wil, and Rapperswil), with Herisau and with Brunnadern-Neckertal, where the train has been stopping since 1910; incidentally, the post bus route via Schönengrund has been in service since 1912. And if you need to cut your trip short, it’s easy: Seven of the twelve towns along the way have a train station, and between Appenzell and Urnäsch, the Appenzeller Bahnen stop in Gontenbad, Gonten, Jakobsbad, and Urnäsch.

• Train to the start: Rankweil (Vorarlberg Railway Feldkirch–Bregenz); transfer to long-distance service in Feldkirch. Alternatively, board the train in Oberriet (station, hourly; bus to Rankweil).
• Bus/Train from the destination: Postbus from St. Peterzell → Wattwil (rail hub), Herisau, or Brunnadern-Neckertal (rail service since 1910).
• Exit points along the way: Oberriet and Rüthi (railroad, before the climb), Appenzell, Gontenbad, Gonten, Jakobsbad, and Urnäsch (Appenzeller Railroads, since 1875).
• Airports: St. Gallen-Altenrhein (about 40 km from Rankweil), Friedrichshafen, Zurich, Memmingen.
• Border Notice: At kilometer 9.4, the route crosses from Austria into Switzerland on foot—no formalities, but francs instead of euros; a Halbtax subscription is only worth it for longer stays in Switzerland.