Rapperswil-Jona is a
municipalityCommunes are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,636 as of 2009. While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the
Wahlkreis (constituency) of
See-GasterSee-Gaster is a constituency in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Wahlkreis has been established on June 10, 2001, totalling 60,662 inhabitants on an area of 246.16 km².- Municipalities :in km²...
in the
cantonThe 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of
St. GallenThe Canton of St. Gallen is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population of 465,937 of which 97,461 are foreigners. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling variations include: St...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
.
Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2003, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.
Today
In 2003 the municipalities of
RapperswilRapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2003, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:In 2003...
and
JonaJona is a village in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, located at the east side of the Lake Zurich. Jona is part of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona.- History :...
merged to form a new political entity.
Rapperswil-Jona has a population of 24,400 (17,100 from
Jona and 7300 from
Rapperswil). This makes it the second-largest town in the canton after the capital,
St. GallenSt. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on services for its economic base.The...
.
The town is considered one of the most significant traffic junctions in the region. The
SeedammSeedamm is called the partially artificial dam and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden at Freienbach and Rapperswil .- Geography and location :...
, a dam across Lake Zurich, links Rapperswil with Hurden (SZ) on the other side of the lake. This connection has been part of old
pilgrimageIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages...
routes.
The town's main sights are concentrated in the centre of Rapperswil and can be seen while strolling through the medieval alleys. The main sights of Rapperswil are its roses, the castle, the reconstructed wooden bridge to Hurden with its bridge chapel, and a Capuchin monastery. There are also a number of churches,
chapelA chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds...
s, and the nearby
Wurmsbach AbbeyWurmsbach Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery located in Bollingen near Rapperswil-Jona, in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is located on the north shore of Lake Zurich...
.
From early centuries, a wooden footbridge led across Lake Zurich. At a later stage, the bridge was replaced by a stone dam. In 2001, a new wooden footbridge was opened alongside the dam for the first 840 meters of the crossing. It was built in the same place as the original bridge and links Rapperswil with the nearby bridge chapel (
Heilighüsli) built in 1551.
In the surroundings of the town there are a number of churches. The Chapel St. Ursula in the village of
KempratenKempraten-Lenggis is a village in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is one of the most important archeological sites in the the canton of St. Gallen and is located at the eastern parts of the upper Lake Zurich.- History :Settlements in the region of...
was built around 885. The St. Dionysius Chapel, dedicated to
DenisSaint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately A.D. 250, and is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers...
, the first bishop of Paris, was reconstructed in 1493 and attracts pilgrims. The nunnery at Wurmsbach (
Wurmsbach AbbeyWurmsbach Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery located in Bollingen near Rapperswil-Jona, in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is located on the north shore of Lake Zurich...
) was established in 1259 and today houses an institute for girls.
Bollingen lies about 5 kilometers along the north bank of lake Zurich between Jona and
SchmerikonSchmerikon is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.It is located on the north bank of the lake of Zurich and has a population of about 3,300 . There are just over 1300 households in Schmerikon...
. There is a railway stop about halfway between the abbey and the village, and a landing for the ferry from Zurich.
Jona river is flowing through the municipality in the Lake Zürich.
Zürichsee-SchifffahrtsgesellschaftZürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft is a public Swiss company operating boats on Lake Zürich connecting surrounding towns between Zürich and Rapperswil.- Destinations :...
(commonly abbreviated to
ZSG) is operating passenger vessels on the Lake Zürich, connecting surrounding towns between
ZürichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
-Bürkliplatz and Rapperswil.
History
Settlements in the region of Rapperswil date back at least 5000 years. The castle was first mentioned in 1229. The town was founded when the nobility of Rapperswil moved from
AltendorfAltendorf can mean any of the following:*Altendorf, Schwyz, a municipality in Switzerland*Altendorf, Upper Franconia, a town in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany*Altendorf, Upper Palatinate, a town in the district of Schwandorf, Bavaria, Germany...
across the lake to Rapperswil. The town was soon acquired by the
HabsburgThe House of Habsburg or Hapsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian and Spanish Empire and several other countries...
family who, in 1358, built the wooden bridge across the lake. Later on, the town bought itself free and made an alliance with the Swiss Confederation.
The Counts of Rapperswil had possessions in what is now Eastern and Central Switzerland. They bore the title of count from 1233. The house of Rapperswil founded the
WettingenWettingen is a residential community in the district of Baden in the Swiss canton of Aargau. With a population of 19,000, Wettingen is the largest municipality in the canton.- Geography :...
monastery in 1227 and the Wurmsbach one in 1259, and they acted as
VögteA Vogt in the Holy Roman Empire was the title of a reeve, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice over a certain territory...
of
Einsiedeln AbbeyEinsiedeln is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Einsiedeln in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, the title being derived from the circumstances of its foundation, from which the name Einsiedeln is also said to have originated...
.
The house of Rapperswil was extinct in 1283 with the death of Rudolf III of Rapperswil, after which emperor Rudolf I acquired their fiefs. The
GrafschaftGrafschaft can refer to:* a German term for county, in a sense that it is an area which belonged to a count . However, administrative districts without a count, which would also be called counties in English-speaking countries, are not called Grafschaft in German.**List of states in the Holy Roman...
of Rapperswil proper passed to the house of Habsburg-Laufenburg by marriage of Elisabeth of Rapperswil, the sister of Rudolf III.
Because of its strategic location along important infrastructure the town grew rich because of flourishing trade. This allowed a certain degree of freedom which was ended with the formation of Swiss cantons by Napoleon. Rapperswil was at first part of the
HelveticIn Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
canton of LinthLinth was a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of Glarus and its subject County of Werdenberg, the Höfe and March districts of Schwyz and the Züricher subject Lordship of Sax, along with a handful of shared territories....
. After 1803's
Act of MediationThe Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February, 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802,...
, it joined the
canton of St. GallenThe Canton of St. Gallen is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population of 465,937 of which 97,461 are foreigners. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling variations include: St...
.
Bollingen is known for the "
TowerBollingen Tower is a structure built by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, in appearance a small castle with several towers, located in Bollingen, on the shore of the Obersee basin of Lake Zürich, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland....
" built there by
Carl JungCarl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology known as Jungian psychology. Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in countercultural movements across the globe...
.
The locational advantage of the place attracted the national
Circus KnieCircus Knie is the main circus of Switzerland. It is often called the National Circus though it receives no State funding. The circus is based in Rapperswil, as well as Knie's Kinderzoo....
who built its headquarters in Rapperswil in 1919. The circus is now also responsible for the zoo and a museum.
In 2006 Rapperswill-Jona hosted the World Orienteering Championships.
See also
- Rapperswil
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2003, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:In 2003...
- Jona
Jona is a village in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, located at the east side of the Lake Zurich. Jona is part of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona.- History :...
- Kempraten
Kempraten-Lenggis is a village in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is one of the most important archeological sites in the the canton of St. Gallen and is located at the eastern parts of the upper Lake Zurich.- History :Settlements in the region of...
- Circus Knie
Circus Knie is the main circus of Switzerland. It is often called the National Circus though it receives no State funding. The circus is based in Rapperswil, as well as Knie's Kinderzoo....
- Knies Kinderzoo
- Paddle steamer Stadt Rapperswil
The Stadt Rapperswil is the sister ship of the steam paddle ship Stadt Zürich on Lake Zurich. Stadt Rapperswil was built in 1914 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft...
- Polish Museum, Rapperswil
The Polish Museum, Rapperswil, was founded in Rapperswil, Switzerland, on October 23, 1870, by Polish Count Władysław Broel-Plater, at the urging of Agaton Giller, as "a refuge for [Poland's] historic memorabilia dishonored and plundered in the [occupied Polish] homeland" and for the promotion of...
- University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil (HSR)
- Wurmsbach Abbey
Wurmsbach Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery located in Bollingen near Rapperswil-Jona, in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is located on the north shore of Lake Zurich...
External links