Rapperswil Castle

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Rapperswil (disambiguation).
Schloss Rapperswil
Rapperswil harbour, as seen from Seedamm, Fischmarktplatz to the right, Rapperswil castle and Stadtpfarrkirche (St. John's Church) in the background (September 2014)
Rapperswil Castle is located in Canton of St. Gallen
Rapperswil Castle
Location within Canton of St. Gallen
Rapperswil Castle is located in Switzerland
Rapperswil Castle
Rapperswil Castle (Switzerland)
General information
ClassificationHistoric monument
Town or cityRapperswil
CountrySwitzerland
Coordinates47°13′38″N 8°48′56″E / 47.227337°N 8.815509°E / 47.227337; 8.815509
Construction started~ 1220 respectively 1352
Completed~ 1229 respectively 1354

Rapperswil Castle (Swiss German: Schloss Rapperswil) is a castle, built in the early 13th century by the House of Rapperswil, in the formerly independent city of Rapperswil.

The castle is located on the eastern

Zürichsee's western Obersee lakeshore in Rapperswil, a locality of the Rapperswil-Jona municipality in Switzerland's canton of St. Gallen
.

Since 1870 the castle has been home to the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as Class A objects of national importance.[1]

Rapperswil Castle as seen from the harbour area, St. John's Church in the background, the vineyards in the foreground
Deer Park on Lindenhof, Zürichsee and Kempraten in the background
Rapperswil/Habsburg soldiers marquing a battle barque manned by Old Swiss Conferdation soldiers at Endigerhorn in Rapperswil, Rapperswil Castle atop the Lindenhof hill to the left, Old Zürich War around 1445)
The ruined Rapperswil castle, view of the palas and so-called Gügegliturm tower from the courtyard, drawing by Heinrich Keller around 1848
Polish freedom pillar (Freiheitssäule) and the so-called Pulverturm

Geography

The medieval

Jakobsweg (Way of St. James) to the Einsiedeln Abbey
.

The castle is situated next to

Stadtmuseum Rapperswil
.

History

Rapperswil Castle dates back around 1200 to 1220 AD, and it was first mentioned in 1229 on occasion of the foundation of the

St. Martin Busskirch. As before in the 11th and 12th century AD, the family acted as Vogt of the Einsiedeln Abbey. Sandstone from the Lützelau
island was used to build the castle, the town walls and the city.

The chapel adjoining the ossuary dates back to the time when the parish passed from the Busskirch church to the Rapperswil church and accordingly an inner city cemetery was established. The first chapel was associated to the castle, but the chapel was located outside of its walls and separated by a trench. The preceding building of the Liebfrauenkapelle was built as an ossuary around 1220 to 1253. The charnel house was first mentioned as intra cymeterium ecclesia, meaning church in the cemetery.

The

Grynau
) and his son, Johann II († 1380).

In 1350 an attempted coup by the aristocratic opposition (a central person was Count Johann II) in the city of Zürich was forcefully put down, and the town walls of Rapperswil and the castle were destroyed by Rudolf Brun. Eis-zwei-Geissebei, a Carnival festival hold in Rapperswil on Shrove Tuesday, may go back to the siege and destruction of the city of Rapperswil. The battlements and the castle were rebuilt by Albrecht II, Duke of Austria in 1352/54.[2][3]

After the extinction of the line of Habsburg-Laufenburg in 1442, the castle was given to the citizens of Rapperswil. Ending

Swiss Confederation from 1458 to 1798 as a so-called Gemeine Herrschaft, i.e. under control of two cantons of the Old Swiss Conferation and their representative, a Vogt, and Rapperswil castle became an administration site respectively military base
and prison.

Over the course of time, the castle fell into disrepair. In 1870 the castle was leased for 99 years from the local authorities by a post-

Polish culture
in Switzerland.

In 2008 some Rapperswil residents petitioned local authorities to evict the Polish Museum from its home in the castle, as two historical museum locations (

Stadtmuseum and Polish Museum) estimated to be too expensive. The museum was conducting a petition campaign to retain the Museum in the castle, but although the Stadtmuseum (museum of local history was kept respectively renewed at its location at the nearby Breny house at Herrenberg in 2012/13,[6] indeed, the future of the Polish Museum remains unsure.[7][8]

Architecture and points of interest

Building

Rebuilt by Duke Albert II, since 1354 the castle forms an almost equilateral triangle, and each corner of the castle is reinforced with a tower. The highest tower in the southwest is the

castle chapel
. The French revolutionary troops plundered the castle's interior in 1798.

  • Legend of founding on a house at Hauptplatz
    Legend of founding on a house at Hauptplatz
  • Zeitturm as seen from the south (Hauptplatz)
    Zeitturm as seen from the south (Hauptplatz)
  • Gügeliturm and Lindenhof as seen from the west
    Gügeliturm and Lindenhof as seen from the west
  • Pulverturm and Polish freedom pillar as seen from the north
    Pulverturm and Polish freedom pillar as seen from the north
  • As seen from the cemetery in the east, Liebfrauenkapelle and St. John's Church to the left
    As seen from the cemetery in the east,
    Liebfrauenkapelle and St. John's Church
    to the left
  • relief of the Rapperswil coats of arms over the main portal
    relief of the Rapperswil coats of arms over the main portal
  • The castle's main portal and battlements
    The castle's main portal and battlements
  • Lower portal, St. John's Church (to the left) and Herrenberg in the background
    Lower portal, St. John's Church (to the left) and Herrenberg in the background

Interior

Inside the castle's palais, there is located next to the Polish Museum the Schloss Restaurant.[9] After hours visits are available by appointment, as well as guided tours for groups, although the castle is just partially accessible for the public. The impressing Rittersaal (knight's hall) and the historical wooden architecture, as well some pictures and tapestry include further points of interest.

  • Rittersaal in the palas
    Rittersaal in the palas
  • interior view
    interior view
  • frescos in the donjon
    frescos in the donjon
  • Gothic wooden supraporta, now in the Rathaus Rapperswil
    Gothic wooden supraporta, now in the Rathaus Rapperswil

Herbal garden

Liebfrauenkapelle's clock tower and the main facade of the St. John's church
in the background

The city and local board of Rapperswil-Jona initiated in 2011 a new service and operating concept for the Rapperswil castle to provide the site as a touristic attraction and meeting place, and thus recognizable as a brand. For this purpose, the tower, the battlements and the herb garden were opened to the public.[10][11]

Lindenhof hill

Main article: Lindenhof (Rapperswil)

In 981 AD the assumably oldest

Kempratnerbucht
 which is a reminder of the legend of the castle's founding.

State of research

It is also assumed a predecessor building, a Roman era watchtower in conjunction with the Vicus Centum Prata, but for the present there are no archaeological findings. Due to the structural conditions, there never significant archaeological excavations were carried out, incidentally at the entire area of the Lindenhof and Herrenberg area. Likewise, there are few reliable data for the construction, only the renovations and the function of the castle are therefore secured by historical sources.

Heritage sites of national significance

Rapperswil Castle and the Polish Museum are listed in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance, as well as the historical lake crossings and settlements, as Class A objects of national importance.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Schweizerisches Inventar der Kulturgüter von nationaler Bedeutung: Kanton St. Gallen, A-Objekte" (PDF) (in German). bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch. 2015-01-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-19. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  2. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Zürich
    . Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  3. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Zürich
    . Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  4. ^ Pauszer-Klonowska, pp. 466/467.
  5. ^ "Official Website". The Polish Museum in Rapperswil. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  6. ^ "Architektur" (in German). Stadtmuseum Rapperswil-Jona. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  7. ^ "Official statement on the Future of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil". The Polish Museum in Rapperswil. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  8. ^ "Umstrittenes Polenmuseum soll im Schloss Rapperswil bleiben" (in German). Schweiz aktuell. 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  9. ^ "Schloss Restaurant Rapperswil" (in German). Schloss Restaurant Rapperswil. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  10. ^ "Neuer Glanz für Schloss Rapperswil" (in German). Zürcher Oberländer. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  11. ^ "Beantwortung Petition zum Schloss Rapperswil" (in German). rapperswil-jona.ch. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2015-09-27.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schloss Rapperswil.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rapperswil_Castle&oldid=1149878381"