Stadtmuseum Rapperswil-Jona is a museum of

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen or St Gall ( ; ; ; ) is a canton of Switzerland. Its capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern Switzerland, the canton has an area of (5% of Switzerland) and a resident population close to half a million as of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Stadtmuseum Rapperswil - Herrenberg 2015-11-07 15-38-33

Rapperswil - Herrenberg - Frohberg IMG 5160

Location

The museum is situated in three

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

buildings, remains of a former castle as part of the town walls of Rapperswil, as of today in the so-called ''Breny house'', a

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, and in the ''Breny tower'' and an intermediate section that was a

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

of the town wall at ''Herrenberg'' hill. The buildings are situated between

Schloss Rapperswil 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 Lake Zurich's western ''Obers ...

Stadtpfarrkirche Rapperswil Stadtpfarrkirche St. Johann (John the Baptist, Saint John's parish church) is a Roman Catholic parish church in the city of Rapperswil, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Geography The church is located next to Rapperswil Castle on the so-c ...

and ''Engelplatz'' square.

Breny house and Breny tower

Breny house and Breny tower are part of the remains of the northeastern town walls of the medieval city of

. The buildings date back to early 13th century AD, when the lords of Russikon (Russinger) built a residential tower respectively a small

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

as servants (Ministerials) of the

Counts of Rapperswil The House of Rapperswil respectively Counts of Rapperswil (''Grafen von Rapperwil'' since 1233, before ''Lords'') ruled the upper ''Zürichsee'' and ''Seedamm'' region around Rapperswil and parts of, as of today, Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, ...

. In its present form, it was built in 1492 by the knight Hans of

Landenberg The Landenberg family was a noble family in medieval Switzerland. History By the beginning 14th century, they were the most powerful family of eastern Switzerland, separating into four lines, Alt-Landenberg, Landenberg-Greifensee, Hohenlan ...

from the

Töss Valley The Töss Valley (German: ''Tösstal'') is a valley and a region of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography The valley embraces parts of the Zürcher Oberland including the Districts of Switzerland, districts of Hinwil (district), Hi ...

replacing the former seat of the lords of Russikon. The Landenberg family officiated in Rapperswil as mayors and councils to 1530. Subsequent occupants were from 1530 to 1660 the Göldlin family, then the Good family, and from 1758 the Breny family. The former castle with its high residential tower at the so-called ''Herrenberg'' (" castle hill") marked in the 16th century the urban expansion of the

city to the northeast. The buildings were part of the northeasterly town walls at the bay of

Kempraten Kempraten-Lenggis is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona, ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The remains of the Gallo-Roman settlement ''Centum Prata'' are on ...

Lake Zürich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

shore heading to the so-called ''Herrenbergtor'' gate (broken in 1848).Kulturbaukasten Rapperswil-Jona, 36 Museen ohne Dach
/ref> The largely conserved residential facilities date back to the 16th century when the castle was owned by Thuring Göldli. The Gothic hall with beamed ceiling and flower garlands, like the other rooms in the initial stage of construction, is largely preserved. The living room is decorated with late Gothic and partly overpainted wall painting among them the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

of the Landenberg and Hünenberg families (as of 1492). The Breny room ("Breny-Stube") and the Landenberg room (as of 1503) are in their original condition. The very first roses in Rapperswil blossom at the Breny tower and at the

next to the

because their medieval sandstone walls are exposed to the sun all through the year.

Museum of local history and art

History

Under the patronage of the transport association (''Verkehrsverein'')

Rapperswil-Jona Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, Rapperswil-Jona also includes Bollinge ...

, the museum was established in 1943 as "Heimatmuseum lokaler Geschichte und Kunst" (museum of local history and art). As a legacy of the sisters Paulina and Henrika Breny, the buildings, as of today commonly called "Breny-Haus" and "Breny-Turm", are situated at former ''Obere Halsgasse'', and administrated by the city of Rapperswil. In 2008, some Rapperswil residents petitioned local authorities to evict the Polish Museum from its home in the

Rapperswil Castle 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 Lake Zurich's western Obersee ...

, as two historical museum locations (''Stadtmuseum'' and Polish Museum) estimated to be too expensive. The Polish Museum is conducting a petition campaign to retain the Museum in the castle; ''Stadtmuseum'' will be kept respectively in 2010/11 renewed at its actual location.November 12, 2009
Rapperswil-Jona official website: ''Das geplante neue Stadtmuseum baut auf neuem Selbstverständnis''

Activities

In December 2009, the project "Janus" presented the results of an evaluation for public vote by the citizens of Rapperswil-Jona. The city museum will be renewed from January 2010 to autumn 2011, and therefore will be closed for visitors. Its historical intermediate section between Breny house and Breny tower will probably replaced by a purposive construction integrated into the historic street-scape between ''Stadtpfarrkirche'' (parish church) and ''Engelplatz'' square. This new building serves both, as an exhibition space as well as connection between the two historical museum buildings. The formative north side of the town walls will be kept as it is. Investment and operating costs of around 5.6 million Swiss francs will be borne equally between local community and political community Rapperswil-Jona. Simultaneously with the realization of the project, the accumulated maintenance work on the facades, windows and roofs of the historic buildings and the town wall will be done.Contest Stadtmuseum Rapperswil

Sights

Along with temporary exhibits, main sights are the prehistoric and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

archaeological finds, particularly from the extensive excavations at

, the former Roman ''vicus

Centum Prata Centum Prata is the name of a Roman ''vicus'' on the eastern shore of Lake Zurich, whose remains are located in Kempraten (to which the vicus lends its name) in the municipality Rapperswil-Jona, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Centum Prata ...

''. Other exhibits are medieval coat of arms of the city of Rapperswil, a goblet of Countess Elizabeth of Rapperswil, the late Gothic living hall and religious goldsmiths, including the mitre, the crosier, particulate monstrance from the monastery treasury of Premonstratensian

Rüti Abbey Rüti, which comes from the Old High German word , meaning " clearing", is a popular name for towns in the German speaking part of Switzerland. It can refer to the following: * Rüti, Glarus in Glarus *Rüti, Zürich in Zürich *: Rüti Reformed C ...

. The intermediate section (as of October 2009) is home to the Breny and Göldli rooms with antique portraits from the Renaissance, the Curti room of Rapperswil silk merchants from the 15th century and the Greith room. In the Breny tower there are a scale model of the city of Rapperswil showing the city as it was in 1800, further information on history and the city fortifications as well as examples of medieval weapons, pharmacy, shoe-making and kiln ceramics from Rapperswil. The previous conventional presentation of the collection objects was replaced in 2012/12 by a multimedia "history experience", i.e., by visual and audible interaction with the visitors.

Gallery

Rapperswil - Stadtmuseum - Zwischentrakt IMG 5471 ShiftN.jpg, The former intermediate section between Breny tower and Breny house, a remain of the medieval town wall Rapperswil - Stadtmuseum IMG 1705.JPG, interior of the Breny tower Rapperswil - Breny-Turm - Wappenschilder.jpg, Coats of arms in the entrance hall: Lords of Russikon, of Landenberg, Göldlin and Breny Kempraten - gallo-römische Fundstücke.jpg,

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

relicts from ''Centum Prata'' (

) Rapperswil - Elisabeth von Rapperswil - Trinkschale.jpg, Drinking cup estimated to belong to Countess

Elisabeth von Rapperswil Elisabeth von Rapperswil (also ''von Habsburg-Laufenburg'', ''von Homberg''; c.1251/1261 – 1309) was the last countess of the House of Rapperswil, and secured by her second marriage the female line of the Counts of Rapperswil and the exte ...

(around 1300) Rapperswil - Stadtsiegel.jpg, City seal of

Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...

, showing Rapperswil and

Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden is a wooden pedestrian bridge between the city of Rapperswil and the village of Hurden crossing the Obersee (the upper part of Lake Zurich) in Switzerland. On 6 April 2001, the footbridge was opened. With a leng ...

(1361) Kloster Rüti - Stadtmuseum Rapperswil - Krummstab und Mitra.jpg, Treasury of the

Rapperswil - Stadtmuseum - Elisabeth Matsch - Reliquiar.jpg, Reliquiar estimated to be given by

Elisabeth von Mätsch Elisabeth von Matsch (also ''von Mätsch'', ''Mazzo'', ''von Toggenburg'', date of birth unknown; † after 20 June 1442, assumably on 24 November 1446, probably in the Rüti Abbey) was the last countess of the Swiss noble House of Toggenburg from ...

, wife of Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg Maria Franziska Diogg (1793-1855), Tochter des Malers, Öl auf Leinwand (doubliert), um 1814 - Felix Maria Diogg - Stadtmuseum Rapperswil 2013-04-06 15-11-35 (P7700).JPG, Maria Franziska Diogg (1793-1855), daughter of

Felix Maria Diogg Felix Maria Diogg (1 July 1762 – 19 February 1834) was a Swiss painter. Born in Andermatt, as an adult he made Rapperswil his home. Diogg is considered the most important Swiss Classicism portraitist. Life and work Born as the son of Kathari ...

, oil on canvas around 1814

Cultural heritage

The building is listed in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

as a ''Class B'' object of regional importance.

Literature

* Peter Röllin: ''Kulturbaukasten Rapperswil-Jona''. Rapperswil-Jona 2005.

References

External links

Stadtmuseum Rapperswil-Jona website

{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Switzerland History museums in Switzerland Local museums Buildings and structures in Rapperswil-Jona Tourist attractions in Rapperswil-Jona Castles in the canton of St. Gallen Museums established in 1943 1943 establishments in Switzerland Museums in the canton of St. Gallen Cultural property of regional significance in the canton of St. Gallen