Schloss Rapperswil

Schloss Rapperswil stands on a rocky spur above the old town and the Obersee, the upper part of Lake Zurich. It is the first thing most visitors notice when they arrive by train or boat, and its towers and walls are the town’s symbol. The castle was founded in the 13th century by the Counts of Rapperswil, a powerful local family whose lands stretched along the lake. Their male line died out at the end of the 13th century, and the castle passed to other families, eventually coming under the Habsburgs, who rebuilt the damaged fortress after the troops of the city of Zurich destroyed the town and castle in 1350.

In the 19th century the castle took on a quite different meaning, one that reached well beyond the lake and into European history. After the failed Polish uprisings, a number of Poles settled in Switzerland, and in 1870 Count Władysław Plater, one of them, founded a national Polish museum in the castle. The museum became a centre of Polish memory and independence in exile, collecting documents, art and relics for a country that did not exist as a state at the time. The collection moved to Warsaw in the 20th century, but the castle still carries the story, and a small Polish museum is part of the grounds today. On the neighbouring Lindenhof hill stands the Polish Column, erected in 1868, a monument that recalls the same period. Its old name, Lindenhügel, is sometimes still used.

The walk up from the old town is short and leads through stone gateways to a courtyard with sweeping views. From the walls you see the red roofs of Rapperswil’s old town, the long wooden footbridge across the lake and the hills beyond. Below the castle, a deer park and rose gardens add a gentle, planted setting to the medieval walls, and Rapperswil is nicknamed the Town of Roses for them. The castle is home to a restaurant and events, and its courtyard is used for concerts and gatherings in the warm months. It is a popular spot for photography, particularly in the evening when the castle is lit.

Visiting works well as part of a longer walk through Rapperswil-Jona. Start in the old town, climb to the castle, continue to the rose gardens and finish along the quay. The castle sits close to other sights such as the Rapperswil-Jona Municipal Museum and the Lake Zurich Shore, so a half day is enough to see most of them. It suits history lovers, photographers, families with older children, and anyone interested in the unusual Polish chapter of Swiss history. Check the opening arrangements for the castle and its museum locally, as they vary with the season.