The official language of Rapperswil is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the AlemannicSwiss German dialect.
On 1 January 2007, the municipalities of Rapperswil and Jona merged to form a new political entity.[3] After the merger Rapperswil-Jona had a population of 25,777 (17,799 from Jona and 7,601 from Rapperswil). This makes it the second largest town in the canton of St. Gallen after the capital St. Gallen itself. On 31 December 2020 the population was 27,483.[4]
Rapperswil-Jona is one of the most significant traffic junctions in the region, and Rapperswil railway station is a nodal point for the Swiss Federal Railways, Südostbahn and S-Bahn Zürich lines. Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) operates passenger vessels on the Lake Zürich, connecting surrounding towns between Zürich-Bürkliplatz and Rapperswil. The Seedamm, a moraine of the Linth Glacier [de] across Lake Zürich,[5] links Rapperswil with Hurden (SZ) on the other side of the lake. This connection has been part of old pilgrimage routes. From early centuries, a wooden footbridge led across Lake Zürich. 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 (Heilig Hüsli) built in 1551.
The 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, chapels, and the nearby Wurmsbach Abbey. In the surroundings of the town there are a number of churches. St. John's Church in Rapperswil was built around 1220 and became Rapperswil's parish church in 1253, the Chapel St. Ursula in the village of Kempraten was built around 885. The St. Dionysius Chapel, dedicated to Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was reconstructed in 1493 and attracts pilgrims. The nunnery (Wurmsbach Abbey), was established in 1259 and today houses an institute for girls, and St. Martin Busskirch is the former parish church of Rapperswil.
Bollingen is known for the "Tower" built there by Carl Jung. Kempraten is one of the most important archeological sites in the canton of St. Gallen and is located at the northern shore of Obersee, the eastern part of Lake Zürich.
Settlements in the area of Rapperswil-Jona date back at least 5000 years. Evidence includes archaeological relicts collected from the Neolithic Seegubel site or the body burials of the La Tène culture. Centum Prata, after which Kempraten is named, is an important archeological site of the Gallo-Roman era.
Atop the Lindenhof hill overlooking a former small village (Endingen), Rapperswil Castle was built around 1220 by the Counts of Rapperswil and is first mentioned in 1229. The town was founded when the nobility of Rapperswil moved from Altendorf across the lake to Rapperswil. The town was soon acquired by the Habsburg family who, in 1358/60, built the wooden bridge across the upper Lake Zürich. Later, the town bought itself free, and ending Old Zürich War made an alliance with the Swiss Confederation.
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 Helveticcanton of Linth. After 1803's Act of Mediation, it joined the canton of St. Gallen. The locational advantage of the place attracted the national Circus Knie who built its headquarters in Rapperswil in 1919. The circus is now also responsible for the Knie's Kinderzoo and the Circus Museum.
Cultural heritage
After the Seedammcauseway and bridge were built in 1878, the Heilig Hüsli chapel was the only remaining structure of the medieval wooden bridge. It stood isolated in the lake and was not accessible to visitors until the reconstruction of the former wooden bridge was erected in 2001. The reconstructed wooden bridge is listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance as part of the Seedamm area including Heilig Hüsli and the remains of the prehistoric wooden bridges respectively stilt house settlements.[6]
Rapperswil-Jona has an area, as of 2006[update], of 22.2 square kilometers (8.6 sq mi). Of this area, 37.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 28.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (3.4%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).[11]
Rapperswil-Jona is situated across the Seedamm, an ice agemoraine built by the Linth Glacier, which separates Lake Zurich into an upper and lower part. The Linth Glacier, named after the River Linth, also formed Lake Zurich itself (glacial lake) and shaped the surrounding land. It was connected to the Rhine Glacier.[5] The River Jona, which originates near Gibswil in the canton of Zürich, runs through Rapperswil-Jona and flows into Obersee.
Demographics
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (86.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.1%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (2.1%).[11]
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 30.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (19.3%), the SP (17%) and the FDP (13.1%).[11]
In Rapperswil-Jona about 74.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[11]
Economy
As of 2007[update], Rapperswil-Jona had an unemployment rate of 1.84%. As of 2005[update], there were 183 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 56 businesses involved in this sector. 3,898 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 231 businesses in this sector. 8,340 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 1,077 businesses in this sector.[11]
Trains at Rapperswil railway stationBus of Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona at Jona bus station (before it was renewed between 2013 and 2015)Boat of ZSG in Rapperswil harbour
The other three railway stations are Jona, served by lines S5 and S15 of the Zürich S-Bahn (combined quarter-hourly service), Kempraten, served half-hourly by line S7 of the Zürich S-Bahn, and Blumenau, served half-hourly by lines S6 and S17 of St. Gallen S-Bahn.[12][13] The fifth station, Bollingen, is now disused.
Prior to the 10 December 2023 timetable change, service over the Rapperswil-Ziegelbrücke railway line east of Rapperswil-Jona was provided by the S6 and InterRegioVoralpen-Express, which combined for a half-hourly service to Uznach. While the S6 called at all stations, the Voralpen-Express did not serve Blumenau. With the upgrade from single track to double-track between Uznach and Schmerikon (constructed between 2021 and 2023), Rapperswil received two additional S-Bahn services. The S4, which followed a circle route between 2013 and 2023, was rerouted to run between Sargans and Rapperswil via St. Gallen. This line does not call at stations between Uznach and Rapperswil. Additionally, a new line, the S17, began operations between Sargans and Rapperswil via Ziegelbrücke (calling at all stations between Uznach and Rapperswil). The scheduled call at Schmerikon of the Voralpen-Express was suspended in December 2023.[14]
Bus
The municipality is served by a local bus service, Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona,[15] provided since 2008 by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO).[16] In addition, Schneider Busbetriebe [de] operates line 622 to Wagen (continues to St. Gallenkappel/Wattwil) and, since December 2023, bus line 995 from Jona to Hummelberg and Buechstrasse Ost. As of the December 2023 timetable change,[update] the bus services are as follows:
Until the timetable change on 10 December 2023, bus line 621 (operated by Schneider) ran between Rapperswil railway station and Jona, Buechstrasse Ost. This line stopped operations due to the increase in frequency of line 622, which mostly uses the same route. Line 995 operated between Rapperswil railway station and Hummelberg, but its leg between Kreuz (Jona railway station) and Rapperswil railway station was truncated in December 2023 for the same reason. Line 995 now also serves the leg from Jona Center to Jona, Buechstrasse Ost, formerly operated by line 621.
As of 2016, an average of 26,000 road vehicles cross the Seedammcauseway and the Bahnhofstrasse in Rapperswil every day. Rapperswil-Jona is expected to participate as the first Swiss city in a pilot project for so-called Mobility pricing in order to relieve the traffic on road and rail during rush hours.[26]
^ abcWagner, Gerhard (2002). "Eiszeitliche Mittelmoränen im Kanton Zürich, 1. Teil: Gebiet des Linthgletschers in der Zürichsee-Talung und im Knonauer Amt". Vierteljahrsschrift der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zürich. 147: 151–163.
^ ab"A-Objekte KGS-Inventar". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
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