St. John's Church, Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland

Stadtpfarrkirche St. Johann church is located next to Rapperswil Castle. The castle and the parish church were built by Count Rudolf II and his son Rudolf III around 1220/29. The former parish church was located at Busskirch 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 he 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 was built, the cemetery chapel that still exists. On 30 January 1881 the church was partially destroyed by fire, and rebuilt from 1881 to 1885.

The Romanesque hall church and the northern church tower were 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, two Renaissance wing altars in the side chapels were added respectively latter moved to other chappels. Thus, these altars were not destroyed by fire on January 30, 1882, as well as the sacristy 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.

References:

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Religious sites in Switzerland

User Reviews

Nagehan Işık (12 months ago)
Rapperswil, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland; cute medieval city. Stadtpfarrkirche St. Johann (Saint John's parish church) is a Roman Catholic parish church and it is located next to Rapperswil Castle (Schloss Rapperswil).

Lebet der Gegenwart (13 months ago)
Entry only with 2G Zertifikat - vaccinated or recovered only are allowed. 2000 years ago the synagogues kept out the lepers for similar reasons, but Jesus welcomed them. Today's churches, however, do not care about what Jesus taught. They only follow the rules of the government so as to not lose money in fines, not realising that Jesus did not care for such things. An imposing looking church indeed, but without any soul, and certainly not the Spirit of Christ.

Katherine Sabogal (2 years ago)
What a beautiful atmosphere!!

Ashish Verma (2 years ago)
Very nice and peaceful church with beautiful architecture and interiors. I got to spend a calm moment inside.

Philippe Jacques Kradolfer (4 years ago)
The Pfarrkirche St. Johann in Rapperswil traces its origen to the middle ages. The church is simple and austere but it has a beautiful atmosphere. The wood ceiling is nice and interesting. The large windows provide plenty of light. Along the side walls you find beautifully small depictions of the Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross. A nice place to sit down for a few minutes to absorbe the quite tranquility of the place amidst the business of any vacation day. A nice, austere and beautifully simple church. Worth the visit.

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