Stadtmuseum Rapperswil-Jona is a museum of local history and art in Rapperswil, canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
The museum is situated in three Middle Ages 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, and in the Breny tower and an intermediate section that was a battlement of the town wall at Herrenberg hill. The buildings are situated between Schloss Rapperswil, Stadtpfarrkirche Rapperswil and Engelplatz square.
Breny house and Breny tower are part of the remains of the northeastern town walls of the medieval city of Rapperswil. The buildings date back to early 13th century AD, when the lords of Russikon (Russinger) built a residential tower respectively a small castle as servants (Ministerials) of the Counts of Rapperswil. In its present form, it was built in 1492 by the knight Hans of Landenberg from the Töss Valley 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 28 metres (92 ft) high residential tower at the so-called Herrenberg ("castle hill") marked in the 16th century the urban expansion of the Middle Ages city to the northeast. The buildings were part of the northeasterly town walls at the bay of Kempraten on Lake Zürich shore heading to the so-called Herrenbergtor gate (broken in 1848). [1]
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 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. [1] [2] [3]
The very first roses in Rapperswil blossom at the Breny tower and at the Stadtpfarrkirche Rapperswil next to the Schloss Rapperswil because their medieval sandstone walls are exposed to the sun all through the year.
Under the patronage of the transport association (Verkehrsverein) Rapperswil-Jona, 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, 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; [4] Stadtmuseum will be kept respectively in 2010/11 renewed at its actual location. [5]
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. [5] [6] [7]
Along with temporary exhibits, main sights are the prehistoric and Roman archaeological finds, particularly from the extensive excavations at Kempraten, the former Roman vicus 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. 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.
The building is listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class B object of regional importance. [8]
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, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.
Rapperswil may refer to:
Rapperswil is a former municipality and since January 2007 part of the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, located at the east side of the Lake Zurich.
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 one of the most important archaeological sites in the canton of St. Gallen; Centrum Prata is located at the so-called Kempratnerbucht, in Rapperswil and Busskirch on Zürichsee lake shore.
Rapperswil Castle is a castle, built in the early 13th century AD by the House of Rapperswil in the former independent city of Rapperswil.
Bollingen is a village (Kirchdorf) within the Swiss municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen.
Busskirch is a village (Kirchdorf) within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Heilig Hüsli is a bridge chapel in Rapperswil, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Rathaus Rapperswil is the former Rathaus of the city government of medieval town of Rapperswil, Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Today, the building houses a café and restaurant, the city archives and a collection of stained glass windows, silverware and paintings. The building and the city archives are listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance.
Rüti Monastery was a former Premonstratensian monastery, founded in 1206 and suppressed in 1525 on occasion of the Reformation in Zürich, situated in the municipality of Rüti in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. The monastery's church was the final resting place of the Counts of Toggenburg, among them Count Friedrich VII and 13 other members of the Toggenburg family, and other noble families. Between 1206 and 1525, the monastery comprised 14 incorporated churches and the owner of extensive lands and estates at 185 localities.
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Johann is a Roman Catholic parish church in the city of Rapperswil, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Centum Prata is the name of a Roman Vicus, whose remains are located on the eastern Zürichsee lakeshore in Kempraten, a locality of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Centum Prata is the most important archaeological site from the Gallo-Roman era in the canton of St. Gallen.
Lindenhof in Rapperswil is a moraine hill and a public square being the historic center of Rapperswil, Switzerland.
Regensberg was a family of counts from the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The family had possessions in the medieval Zürichgau from the probably mid-11th century and became extinct in 1331 AD. With the extinction of the male line, the city republic of Zürich laid claim to the Regensberg lands and formed the Herrschaft Regensberg respectively Äussere Vogtei.
Uster Castle is a hill castle which was built probably around 1200 AD by the House of Rapperswil in the Swiss municipality of Uster in the Canton of Zürich. Since 1995 it houses a boarding school.
Liebfrauenkapelle is a chapel in Rapperswil, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, which dates back to the ossuary that was built by the House of Rapperswil around 1253 AD.
Einsiedlerhaus is a historic building with an adjoint garden which is part of the former town wall of the medieval Swiss town of Rapperswil in the Canton of St. Gallen.
Reformierte Kirche Uster is an Evangelical Reformed church in the Swiss municipality of Uster in the Canton of Zürich that was built in 1824. The predecessor St. Andreas church, situated next to the Uster Castle, was given by the House of Rapperswil and first mentioned in 1099 AD.
Bubikon Castle or Bubikon Commandery is a castle in the municipality of Bubikon of the Swiss Canton of Zürich. The former Commandery, a medieval monastery of the Knights Hospitaller, is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The Rapperswil Rose Gardens are privately established small rose gardens probably dating back to the early years of the former independent town of Rapperswil. They are located in the present city of Rapperswil-Jona, Canton of St. Gallen, in Switzerland.
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