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 Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, and Wagen.

The official language of Rapperswil is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Today

On 1 January 2007, the municipalities of Rapperswil and Jona merged to form a new political entity. 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 the population was .

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 Zurich S-Bahn lines. Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) operates passenger vessels on the Lake Zurich, connecting surrounding towns between Zurich Bürkliplatz and Rapperswil. The Seedamm, a moraine of the across Lake Zurich,

Located on the Seedamm isthmus, an ice age moraine (Linth Glacier) Three pile dwelling settlements were closely connected to these sea crossings: Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld, Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach and Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of .

As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, the settlements are also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object. The River Jona, which originates near Gibswil in the canton of Zurich, runs through Rapperswil-Jona and flows into Obersee.

Demographics

Most of the population () speaks German (86.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.1%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (2.1%).

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%).

The other three railway stations are , served by lines S5 and S15 of the Zurich S-Bahn (combined quarter-hourly service), , served half-hourly by line S7 of the Zurich S-Bahn, and , served half-hourly by lines S6 and S17 of St. Gallen S-Bahn.

Bus

thumb|Bus of Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona at bus station (before it was renewed between 2013 and 2015)

The municipality is served by a local bus service, Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona, provided since 2008 by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO). In addition, ' operates line 622 to Wagen (continues to St. Gallenkappel/Wattwil) and, since December 2023, bus line 995 from to Hummelberg and Buechstrasse Ost. the bus services are as follows:

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:95%; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:5px;"

!Line

!Route

!Operator

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#94b7d4 | <span style="color:white"><big>622</big></span>

| Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kreuz (Jona railway station) – Jona Center – St. Dyonis – Wagen – Eschenbach – St. Gallenkappel (– Ricken – Wattwil)

| Schneider

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#94b7d4 | <span style="color:white"><big>885</big></span>

| Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kempraten, Bahnhof – Schönau – Rüti ZH, Bahnhof – Wald ZH, Bahnhof – Goldingen – Atzmännig, Schutt

| (VZO)

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#ed1b24 | <span style="color:white"><big>991</big></span>

| Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd – Kinderzoo – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Jona, Bahnhof

| Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#b55314 | <span style="color:white"><big>992</big></span>

| Sonnenhof – Glärnischstrasse – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Feldlistrasse – Jona, Bahnhof

| Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#fcb812 | <span style="color:white"><big>993</big></span>

| Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Altersheim Meienberg – Vogelau (Jona railway station) – Tägernau

| Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#8f52a0 | <span style="color:white"><big>994</big></span>

| Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kempraten, Bahnhof – Wohnheim Balm – Schönau – Jona, Bahnhof

| Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#f6821f | <span style="color:white"><big>995</big></span>

| Jona, Bahnhof – Jona Center – Hummelberg/Jona, Buechstrasse Ost

| Schneider

|- align=center

| bgcolor=#56b03c | <span style="color:white"><big>996</big></span>

| Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd – Kinderzoo – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Schachen/Feldlistrasse – Jona, Bahnhof

| Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)

|}

History

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.

Boat

thumb|right|Boat of ZSG in Rapperswil harbour

Rapperswil harbour is adjacent to the old town of Rapperswil and Rapperswil railway station. Lake shipping services of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) provide routes to Zurich and other lakeside towns on Lake Zurich. Most boats of ZSG dock Ufenau island near Rapperswil harbour.

During summer, there is a ferry across Obersee. The ferry connects a pier near the University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil (now part of OST), just south of Rapperswil railway station, with Lachen and Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz.

Private transport

As of 2016, an average of 26,000 road vehicles cross the Seedamm causeway 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.

Air transport

The nearest airport is Zurich Airport, which is located north west of Rapperswil-Jona. It is easily accessible by train operated by Schweizerische Bundesbahnen.

Sport

thumb|right|[[SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers won the cup final in 2018 in the St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena]]

The National League ice hockey team Rapperswil-Jona Lakers plays in the 6,200-seat St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena.

The FC Rapperswil-Jona is a football team. It was founded in 1928 and is now playing in the Swiss Promotion League.

In 2003, Rapperswill-Jona hosted the World Orienteering Championships.

International relations

Rapperswil-Jona is twinned with:

{| class="wikitable"

|- valign="top"

|

  • Aalborg, Denmark

||

  • Bagno di Romagna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

|}

Notable people

and

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thumb|400px|right|Map of Rapperswil-Jona municipality (2021)

<gallery>

File:Obersee - Jona Yachthafen IMG 1860.JPG|Wurmsbach Abbey

File:St. Dionys1.jpg|Chapel of St. Dionys

File:St.Dionys innen.JPG|Interior of the chapel

File:St._Dionys_Bilder_Südwand.JPG|Paintings on the south wall of the chapel

File:Jona (SG) - Busskirch St Martin IMG 2217 ShiftN.jpg|St. Martin Busskirch on Obersee (upper Lake Zurich)

File:Jona (SG) - Busskirch St Martin IMG 2206 ShiftN.jpg|inside the medieval Parish church

File:Jona (SG) - Busskirch St Martin IMG 4774 ShiftN.jpg|Höllenrachen (Last Judgement) painting inside St. Martin

File:Meienberg (Rapperswi-Jona) - Lenggis Spitzewies IMG 4965.JPG|Meienberg hill

File:Rapperswil - Rathaus IMG 1634.jpg|Rathaus (Town hall) of Rapperswil

File:Rapperswil - Holzbrücke IMG 3862.JPG|Schloss Rapperswil and Stadtpfarrkirche (St. John's church)

File:Rapperswil - Polen Museum Bibliothek IMG 2087.JPG|Polish Museum at the Schloss

File:Seedamm rapperswil.jpg|Seedamm bridge across the lake

File:Rapperswil - Holzbrücke - Heilighüsli IMG 2873.JPG|reconstruction of the original wooden bridge from c. 1525 BC between Rapperswil and Hurden

File:ETH-BIB-Rapperswil-Jona-LBS H1-016732.tif|Aerial view (1954)

File:ETH-BIB-Rapperswil-LBS H1-023317.tif|Aerial view (1962)

</gallery>

See also

; Settlements comprised by the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona

; Points of interest:

References

  • Rapperswil-Jona (official site)
  • Capuchin monastery
  • University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil, HSR (university)
  • A brief history of Rapperswil