Stadtpfarrkirche St. Johann ( Saint John's parish church) is a Roman Catholic

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the city of

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,

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 ...

Rapperswil - Kempratner Bucht - Herrenberg - Seedamm - Obersee - Frohberg IMG 5149

Geography

The church is located next to

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 ...

on the so-called ''Herrenberg'' hill to the northeast of Stadtmuseum Rapperswil. The Catholic city cemetery is situated to the north of the church, some meters to the northwest there is the so-called ''Liebfrauenkapelle'' (St. Mary's chapel) situated, built in 1489 on the former

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

. As of today it's the cemetery's chapel and also popular for weddings thanks to its location overlooking '' Kempratnerbucht'' at

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 shore.

History

, the town walls of the former locus ''Endingen'' and the parish church were built by Count Rudolf II and his son Rudolf III ''of Rapperswil'' around 1220/29. The former parish church was located at

Busskirch Busskirch is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Geography The village is located along the northern shore of the Obersee (Zürichsee), ''Obersee'' lakeshore betwee ...

on upper ''Zürichsee'' lake shore, being one of the oldest churches around the lake area. Even the citizens of Rapperswil had to attend services in Busskirch until Count Rudolf II built his own parish church on the ''Herrenberg'' hill next to the castle. Legally, Rapperswil church was subordinated to 1253 the parish of St. Johann Busskirch and thus the Pfäfers abbey. In 1489 the adjacent '' Liebfrauenkapelle'' (St. Mary's chapel) was built, the cemetery chapel that still exists. On 24 November 1446 '' Ellsbetha, gräffin zu Togckenburg'' granted a benefice (''Pfründe'') in the amount of 800 ''Rheinische Gulden'' to the ''Allerheiligen'' altar of the church, sealed by Countess Elisabeth and certified by ''Schultheiss und Rat der Stadt Rapperswil''. Since 1737 «Bruderschaft der hl. Caecilia und Katharina» (Brotherhood of St. Cecilia and Catherine) provides an enormous repertoire of church music for the parish among them around 1,000 compositions of the Rapperswil-born church musicians and composers Carl Greith (1828–1887) and his father Franz Josef Greith (1799–1869) who composed the ''Rütli'' anthem («Von ferne sei herzlich gegrüsst, du stilles Gelände am See»). On 30 January 1881 the church was partially destroyed by fire, and rebuilt from 1881 to 1885. The very first roses in Rapperswil blossom at the southern wall and at the present Stadtmuseum Rapperswil next to the

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 ...

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

Architecture

The Romanesque hall church and the northern

church tower Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

were built around 1220/29 by Count Rudolf II of Rappperswil and extended in 1383 to the west. In 1441 a smaller but massively southern church tower was built. Collection campaigns in 1493/97 allowed to rebuild the hall church into a tripartite Gothic choir with arched ceiling and tracery windows. Following the

Reformation in Switzerland The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate, Mark Reust, and the population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matte ...

, two

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

wing altars in the side chapels were added respectively latter moved to other chapels. Thus, these altars were not destroyed by fire on January 30, 1882, as well as the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

located in the southern church tower, along with the precious treasure of the church: masterpieces by the goldsmiths Breny from Rapperswil, Dietrich, Dumeisen and Rüssi Ysenschlegel, being one of the richest in the Linth territory. File:Rapperswil - Stadtpfarrkiche und Liebfrauenkapelle.jpg, Portal and ''Liebfrauenkapelle'' File:Rapperswil - Stadtpfarrkirche - Innenansicht 2012-10-30 14-44-12 (P7700) ShiftN.jpg, Main altar and side altars File:Rapperswil - Stadtpfarrkirche - Innenansicht 2011-02-03 16-50-32.JPG, One of the church windows File:Rapperswil - Stadtpfarrkirche St. Johann - Deckendetail IMG 0397.JPG, Church ceiling and chandelier File:Rapperswil - Stadtpfarrkirche - Innenansicht 2011-03-11 16-00-18 ShiftN.jpg, Wood carving at the staircase to the gallery File:Rapperswil - Franz Josef Greith Denkmal.jpg, Franz Josef Greith memorial situated at

Kapuzinerkloster Rapperswil The Capuchin Friary, Rapperswil, () is a Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Capuchin friary located in Rapperswil in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Geography The monastery is situated to the west of the city of Rapperswil, below the Lin ...

File:Rapperswil - Stadtpfarrkirche - Engelkonsole mit Rapperswiler Wappen.jpg, Coats of arms (around 1440/50) from the southern church tower File:Busskirch - St. Martin 2010-10-26 14-34-42 ShiftN.jpg, Maternal parish ''St. Martin''

in Jona Advised by the art historian Johann Rudolf Rahn, the architect Xaver Müller rebuilt the largely destroyed building. The obtained towers were increased by . A choir with neo-Gothic vaulting star was added, the nave extended by a few meters and a double wooden ceiling. The neo-Gothic altars and the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

are created by Atelier Marggraf in Munich. The rededication took place on October 6, 1885. The large chandelier was built in 1894 by the company Benziger & Co. in Einsiedeln. Renovations were done in 1959/60 (exterior and new bells), in 1971/73 and 1981. The

church bells A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship, but are also rung o ...

in the large southern tower have a prominent sound by seven bells; one of 1537 and six were added in 1960. The bells weight about . On Saturdays at 3 pm for about eight minutes all the bells rung for Sunday.

Pipe organ

The

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

in the gallery was installed by ''Mathys Orgelbau AG'' in 1975.

Parish

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

''St. Johann'' was founded by Count Rudolf III von Rapperswil in 1253, and is now the Catholic parish Rapperswil-Jona comprising about 3900 devotees and the area of the city of Rapperswil ( Jona has its own Catholic parish).

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

is the patron saint of the parish since 1253.

Protection

The St. Johann church and Liebfrauenkapelle are 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 ''Class B'' objects of regional importance.

References

Literature

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

External links

* {{Lake Zurich Churches in the canton of St. Gallen Buildings and structures in Rapperswil-Jona House of Rapperswil 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Switzerland Buildings and structures completed in 1229 Churches completed in the 1220s Cultural property of regional significance in the canton of St. Gallen Tourist attractions in Rapperswil-Jona Gothic architecture in Switzerland Romanesque architecture in Switzerland