| Schloss Rapperswil | |
|---|---|
 Rapperswil harbour, as seen fromSeedamm,Fischmarktplatz to the right, Rapperswil castle andStadtpfarrkirche (St. John's Church) in the background (September 2014) | |
  Location within Canton of St. Gallen Show map of Canton of St. Gallen Rapperswil Castle (Switzerland) Show map of Switzerland | |
| General information | |
| Classification | Historic monument |
| Location | Rapperswil,Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 47°13′38″N8°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 acastle, built in the early 13th century by theHouse of Rapperswil, in the formerly independent city ofRapperswil.
The castle is located on the easternLake Zurich's westernObersee lakeshore inRapperswil, a locality of theRapperswil-Jona municipality inSwitzerland'scanton of St. Gallen.
Since 1870 the castle has been home to thePolish National Museum established by Polish émigrés, including the castle'slessee and restorer, CountWladyslaw Broel-Plater.Schloss Rapperswil and the Museum are listed in theSwiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance asClass A objects of national importance.[1]
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The medievalAltstadt of the city ofRapperswil is dominated by the castle perched atop a longish rocky hill on thepeninsula calledLindenhof hill on its western side respectivelyHerrenberg on its eastern side where the castle was built. It is surrounded on three sides byLake Zurich and by thoseupper section on the northwesternSeedamm area. Thus, the castle was well protected, dominating the old town of Rapperswil, and controlling the water way betweenWalensee and Lake Zurich on its most narrow part, as well as the medievalGotthard Pass route betweenLombardy andZurich, and theJakobsweg (Way of St. James) to theEinsiedeln Abbey.
The castle is situated next toStadtpfarrkirche Rapperswil and the presentcemetery chapel, and (to the east) neighboured by former small castle, as of today theStadtmuseum Rapperswil.
Rapperswil Castle dates back around 1200 to 1220 AD, and it was first mentioned in 1229 on occasion of the foundation of theRüti Abbey. The castle and the fortifications of the former locusEndingen (given by theEinsiedeln Abbey) were built by CountRudolf II and his sonRudolf IIIvon Rapperswil, when the nobility of Rapperswil moved fromAltendorf (Alt-Rapperswil) across the lake to the other side of the so-calledSeedamm, maybe to establish their own parish church and to avoid to go the mess, by crossing the lake, inSt. Martin Busskirch. As before in the 11th and 12th century AD, the family acted asVogt of the Einsiedeln Abbey.Sandstone from theLützelau 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 theBusskirch church to theRapperswil 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 theLiebfrauenkapelle was built as an ossuary around 1220 to 1253. The charnel house was first mentioned asintra cymeterium ecclesia, meaning church in the cemetery.
TheCounts of Rapperswil became extinct in 1283 with the death of the 18-year-old CountRudolf V, after which emperorRudolf I acquired their fiefs. TheHerrschaft Rapperswil proper passed to the house of Homberg represented by Count Ludwig († April, 27 1289) by first marriage of CountessElisabeth von Rapperswil. Around 1309 the bailiwick passed to CountRudolf von Habsburg-Laufenburg († 1315) by second marriage of Countess Elisabeth, the sister of Rudolf V, followed by her son,CountJohann I († 1337 inGrynau) and his son,Johann II († 1380).
In 1350 an attempted coup by the aristocratic opposition (a central person was CountJohann II) in the city of Zurich was forcefully put down, and the town walls of Rapperswil and the castle were destroyed byRudolf Brun.Eis-zwei-Geissebei, a Carnival festival hold in Rapperswil onShrove Tuesday, may go back to the siege and destruction of the city of Rapperswil. The battlements and the castle were rebuilt byAlbrecht 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. EndingOld Zurich War, Rapperswil was controlled by theSwiss Confederation from 1458 to 1798 as a so-calledGemeine Herrschaft, i.e. under control of two cantons of the Old Swiss Conferation and their representative, aVogt, and Rapperswil castle became an administration site respectivelymilitary 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-November 1830 Uprising Polish émigré,Count Wladyslaw Broel-Plater (a relative ofEmilia Plater, a heroine of the same 1830 Uprising), who had been in Switzerland since 1844. At his own expense he restored the castle, and on 23 October 1870 thePolish National Museum was established.[4][5] Except for two hiatuses (1927 to 1936 and 1952 to 1975), the museum has existed to the present day — an outpost ofPolish 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 theStadtmuseum (museum of local history was kept respectively renewed at its location at the nearbyBreny house atHerrenberg in 2012/13,[6] indeed, the future of the Polish Museum remains unsure.[7][8]
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 thedonjon, commonly calledGügeliturm in Swiss-German language, where the so-calledHochwächter warned the residents against approaching danger or fire. The five-sidedZeitturm, a clock tower in the east, houses three bells and beside a sundial and two large clocks. Between these two towers the castle's six-storey palais is situated. In addition, ramparts respectivelybattlements are leading to the third tower in the northwest, the so-calledPulverturm (powder tower). From 1698 to 1837 there was a drawbridge, at the present lower gate towards the formercastle chapel. The French revolutionary troops plundered the castle's interior in 1798.
Inside the castle's palais, there is located next to the Polish Museum theSchloss 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 impressingRittersaal (knight's hall) and the historical wooden architecture, as well some pictures and tapestry include further points of interest.
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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 thusrecognizable as a brand. For this purpose, the tower, the battlements and the herb garden were opened to the public.[10][11]
In 981 AD the assumably oldestvineyard on Lake Zurich lake shore, situated on the southern slope of the Lindenhof hill which is namedSchlossberg was mentioned for the first time. On the castle's terrace, the eastern part of the so-calledLindenhof hill-square, the Polish freedom pillar is situated, as a sign of Switzerland's solidarity with people who struggle for their freedom, as well a tinyrose garden. From there is also an impressing view over the medieval town of Rapperswil,upper and lowerLake Zurich, on theSeedamm and thewooden bridge from Rapperswil toHurden and theFrauenwinkel protected area, and towards theGlarus Alps, as well as to theBachtel mountain. Among other traditions,Eis-zwei-Geissebei is celebrated on Lindenhof, at theRathaus and Castle when in the evening all regionalGuggenmusik (carnival marching bands) gather to celebrate a roaring concert. On the northern side of theLindenhof plateau stretches a supervised Deer park with 10 to 15Dama dama down towards theKempratnerbucht which is a reminder of the legend of the castle's founding.
It is also assumed a predecessor building, a Roman era watchtower in conjunction with theVicusCentum 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.
Rapperswil Castle and the Polish Museum are listed in theSwiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance, as well as thehistorical lake crossings and settlements, asClass A objects of national importance.[1]
