Page 140 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2024 LIMA

Back in town, there is plenty of art to
discover. Numerous sculptures ranging from
blue birds to tall steals to fountains can be
found throughout the townscape. "Behind
Europe's largest open-air sculpture exhibi‐
tion is the Hohmeister family, who live in Bad
Ragaz - and a huge amount of work," said
Adrian Pfiffner of Heidiland Tourism. "From
the beginning, the goal of the initiators of
the Bad RagARTz was to make art easily
accessible and tangible.” The private initia‐
tive has become an exhibition that takes
place every three years, the next one being
in 2024.
But Bad Ragaz is not only immortalized
in paintings, sculptures, and graphics. Jo‐
hanna Spyri, as the wife of a busy man in
Zurich, was never really happy with life in
the city and was inspired to write what is
perhaps the world's best-known Swiss book
- "Heidi" - during numerous stays in the spa
town and its surroundings. She soon found
suitable backdrops for her story, such as the
old hamlet above Maienfeld that is today
called Heidi Village. It boasts a museum and
is the starting point of the Heidi Adventure
Trail which leads not only to Heidi’s House,
but also to Geissenpeter’s home, and to the
Ochsenberg mountain, the dwelling place of
Heidi’s beloved grandpa, Alpöhi. In a clever
marketing move, the area around Bad Ragaz
was branded Heidiland.
Part of the region is the Bündner
Herrschaft which is known to wine connois‐
seurs as a small vineyard area where the so-
called "Herrschäftler" is vinified. In these
vineyards of Graubünden, which only make
up three percent of all Swiss vineyards, 45
different grape varieties grow, their most

Evangelical church in Bad Ragaz with
steel sculpture by Thomas Röthel
Left: fountain sculpture in Bad Ragaz
Right: Sculpture “Guardians” by Xavier
Mascaró and decorated cow in village in
Bündner Herrschaft
Opposite top: little girl with decorated
cows after the cattle procession

140 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2024