Churfirsten
The Churfirsten is a mountain range in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. They form the natural boundary between the canton's Toggenburg and Sarganserland districts. They are the southernmost range of the Appenzell Alps, separated from the Glarus Alps by the Seez Valley and Lake Walen.
They consist of a limestone ridge running east to west, with the individual peaks formed by erosion. The ridge is defined much more sharply to the south than to the north, with an almost vertical drop of several hundred meters towards Walenstadtberg and eventually Lake Walen at. The southern slope of the range was significantly formed by the Rhine Glacier during the Würm glaciation.
There are several hiking routes on the range. The Schwendiseen are two small lakes on the northern side of the range. Wildenmannlisloch is a cave on the northern slope of the Selun. Quinten is a car-free village south-west of Churfirsten on the northern shore of Lake Walen.
Name
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 7 prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire who in the later medieval period numbered seven, which in turn encouraged the count of seven main or "official" peaks.Peaks
The standard "seven peaks" of the Churfirsten are :- Selun:
- Frümsel:
- Brisi:
- Zuestoll:
- Schibenstoll:
- Hinterrugg:
- Chäserrugg:, accessible by a funicular and aerial tram
The Churfirsten seven peaks listed above have remarkably uniform heights, within just above a difference; the ridge continues both to the east and the west with a number of further peaks between that are not usually included as Churfirsten:
- Peaks to the west of Selun: Wart at, Schären at, Nägeliberg at, Glattchamm at, Leistchamm at.
- Peaks to the east of Chäserrugg: Tristenkolben at, Gamserrugg at .