Stein: Cultural History and Mountain Trails
Accommodation in Stone
Stein lies in the Alpine Upper Toggenburg region and the upper Thur Valley. Its cultural history is reflected in specific churches, buildings and events; the routes differ in their themes, distances and elevation gains. This gives you a choice of distinct focal points, from historical landmarks to different types of tours.
Historic village centre and local history
The historic Sonnenhalb village centre is set on a hillside terrace overlooking the valley. This small centre contains a little church that is late medieval in its core, along with two timber buildings with boarded exteriors and low-pitched roofs. The Catholic Church of St James is another landmark in the village’s history: it was built in 1927–1928 and stands in a walled cemetery. Stein’s Reformed church was built in 1497 on the site of a chapel mentioned in “Breitenau” in 1280. Its building history thus spans from the medieval mention of the chapel to the 20th-century Church of St James.
Another turning point was the devastating fire that struck the village on 29 March 1947. Stein also has a specific starting point in the history of winter sports: in 1905, Toggenburg’s ski sport began here, promoted by a small ski factory.
Bee trail and hiking trails
The Toggenburg Bee Trail focuses on honeybees. It follows the Thur Trail via Germen from Nesslau to Stein SG and includes 14 information panels. Halfway along, you can look through a glass pane into a beehive display and observe the work of a colony. The Thur Trail section is signposted all the way from start to finish. Check the local signs before setting out, as temporary diversions may affect navigation.
The 14 km section of the Alpine Panorama Trail leads from Stein SG to Amden. From Stein, it follows the Dürrenbach stream and then passes through Schärswald forest. The details about the route and landscape features give you different points of reference when planning your tours. As conditions in the mountains can change with the seasons, check them before your hike.
Mountain tours and winter route
The hike over Risipass to Schwägalp starts at the Stein SG/Dorf bus stop. Check access details before your trip. Another mountain tour leads from Stein along a ridge to Neuenalpspitz, offering views of Säntis and the Churfirsten. It has an ascent of 979 metres and a descent of 939 metres. This makes it possible to compare the route by its ridge and elevation gains with the Alpine Panorama Trail, for which the length of the section to Amden is given.
For a ski tour, the route from Stein leads over Risipass and Alp Stockberg to the summit of Stockberg. Check local winter conditions before planning. Together with the hike over Risipass to Schwägalp, this route shows that the pass features in descriptions of different tours leading to different destinations.
Discover more destinations: Alt Sankt Johann, Wildhaus, LĂĽtisburg, Wattwil, Lichtensteig, Krinau, Nesslau, Ebnat-Kappel.
Back to the main travel overview: Toggenburg.
