Pastor Künzle path Wangs

Themed circular hike with herbal picture boards from Wangs Rappagugg via Vilters and back. The original brewing harbors and bathing facilities still exist in the former spa house Bad Wangs (now the Fatima vacation complex).

Short biography of Pastor Künzle 1857-1945
He had already acquired the basis for his extensive knowledge of the medicinal plants of his homeland and their use in his early childhood, when his father Jakob Anton Künzle, a gardener, showed him the various plants, gave him their Latin names and also told him their origin.
Later, Father Künzle collected recipes for old, tried and tested remedies and studied the behavior of animals. Although the scientists mocked him, he unwaveringly drew his conclusions from his observations. He organized the first herbal market in Wangs in 1914. Father Künzle had the herbs collected here, as he had noticed that the herbs in the Föhn area in the Wangs region were significantly stronger than those in the area of the north wind. When the dreaded influenza raged in 1918 and death was wielding its scythe everywhere, the herbal priest used herbal teas to fight the "sinister journeyman", who was unable to win even a single patient away from the "miracle doctor".

The healing successes of the popular priest caused a sensation and made him famous. More and more people turned to the herbalist and asked him for help and healing, so that he was finally faced with the decision of remaining a pastor or devoting himself entirely to the sick. He opted for herbal medicine and settled in Zizers. There was no lack of patients in his new home, but there was a lack of understanding from the authorities in the canton of Graubünden. He was fined for helping the sick, and scholarly circles spoke of superstition and bungling in connection with the herbal healing method. This led to the famous vote on the medicinal herb initiative in the canton of Graubünden.

The people were clearly in favor of herbal medicine. The herbalist's opponents were not yet defeated, hoping that the "miracle doctor" would fail the exam they had set up. When the 65-year-old priest was summoned for the exam, the examinee asked the gentlemen whether he should answer the questions in Latin or Greek, causing the examiners no small amount of embarrassment. Künzle passed the exam with flying colors. Now the path to healing was clear. Father Künzle's healing method with the 3F's, for solid - liquid - volatile, is still used today. Solid stands for herbal active ingredients for the organs, Liquid for the organism and Volatile for the body's energy balance. Pastor Künzle was buried on January 11, 1945 in the parish of Wangs.