Stäfa is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland .
41-401: Stäfa has an area of 8.6 km (3.3 sq mi). Of this area, 46.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 34% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). In 1996 housing and buildings made up 26.7% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7.2%). Of
82-486: A Fachhochschule ). There are 5179 households in Stäfa. Stäfa has an unemployment rate of 2.14%. As of 2005, there were 153 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 34 businesses involved in this sector. 1592 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 103 businesses in this sector. 2551 people are employed in the tertiary sector , with 508 businesses in this sector. As of 2007 55.3% of
123-776: A 55-minute ride away from St. Gallen (direct with Voralpen-Express or S6/ S4 with change in Uznach ). The railway tracks and the infrastructure, excluded the train station's building, have been renewed by June/July 2016. Since 2008, the bus service in Rapperswil-Jona ( Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona ) has been provided by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO). In addition, Schneider Busbetrieb operates line 622 to Wagen (continues to St. Gallenkappel / Wattwil ) and line 621 to Buech/St. Dyonis. As of 2016, an average of 26,000 road vehicles cross
164-606: A number of rail lines. These included a standard gauge steam railway , the Uerikon-Bauma-Bahn , and two metre gauge electric tramways , the Wetzikon-Meilen-Bahn and the Uster-Oetwil-Bahn . These three lines were operating with large financial losses, and it was decided to replace them with buses. The VZO was founded to operate these replacement service, and over the years more routes in
205-580: A population of 25,777 (December 2007). This makes it the second-largest town in the canton after the capital of St. Gallen itself. Ironman 70.3 Switzerland and the Triathon Challenge took place in Rapperswil-Jona on 6 June 2010, and was repeated several times. The blues'n'jazz festival, taking place since 1998, is held at the end of June. Every three years Seenachtsfest is celebrated one weekend in August, attracting nearly 100,000 visitors to
246-549: A spectacular fireworks, for the next time in summer 2018. Rapperswil is the home of the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers , and their Diners Club Arena is situated on Obersee lakeshore. Kunst(Zeug)Haus is a vibrant center of Swiss contemporary art, housed in a former Swiss Military armory ( Zeughaus ). Herzbaracke is a swimming theatre, cabaret and restaurant on Lake Zürich at different locations, among them Zürich-Bellevue and Rapperswil harbour. Eis-zwei-Geissebei
287-555: Is a Carnival festival in Rapperswil on Shrove Tuesday, and Christkindlymärt is a Christmas funfair celebrated in late December, and last but not least, Radio Zürisee is situated in Rapperswil opposite of the Rapperswil railway station , and Obersee Nachrichten at Hauptplatz plaza. In Rapperswil there are several sites situated that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance : Schloss Rapperswil with
328-574: 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 between Obersee and the main part of Lake Zurich . Rapperswil is located on the northern shore of Lake Zurich at the point at which the lake is cut in two by the Seedamm isthmus , which
369-486: Is also a rose garden in the town center, accessible to blind and disabled people. The old town ( Altstadt ) is dominated by the Schloss Rapperswil located at the peninsula called Endingen , Lindenhof and Herrenberg on Lake Zurich perched atop this rocky hill at the bay of Kempraten . The castle dates back to the early 13th century (first mentioned in 1229). In 1350, it was destroyed by Rudolf Brun ,
410-543: Is an ice age moraine . The upper (or eastern) part of Lake Zurich is called Obersee . Part of the old town, the castle and monastery are situated on a peninsula . The town's main sights are concentrated in the Altstadt of Rapperswil and can be seen while strolling through the medieval alleys. The main sights of Rapperswil are its rose gardens , Rapperswil Castle , the reconstructed wooden bridge to Hurden with its bridge chapel Heilig Hüsli located at Seedamm ,
451-456: Is closely linked to Einsiedeln Abbey. 972 King Otto II confirmed in documents possessions of the abbey on the lake, including Steveia (Stäfa). The villages of Kehlhof and Uerikon are politically part of the town. Stäfa is linked with the German poet Goethe who once stayed overnight in the town. Stäfa has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 14,791. As of 2018, 18.9% of the population
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#1732779516236492-586: Is served by line S7 of the S-Bahn Zürich , which provides two trains per hour to both Zürich and Rapperswil . The journey time to Zürich is about 25 minutes, and somewhat less to Rapperswil. In summer, Stäfa is served by regular ship services between Zurich and Rapperswil, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) and calling at various lake side towns. A passenger ferry, operated on an hourly basis throughout
533-603: The Kapuzinerkloster (Capuchin's monastery) , the remains of the Middle Ages fortifications located on Lake Zurich , Lindenhof hill, Herrenberg , Engelplatz , Hauptplatz , Bühlerallee and Fischmarktplatz at Rapperswil harbour. Rapperswil is often referred to as the "town of roses" ( Rosenstadt ) because of its extensive displays of roses in three designated parks. No less than 15,000 plants of 600 different kinds may be viewed between June and October. There
574-603: The Seedamm isthmus in Lake Zurich, the area is in close vicinity to the prehistoric lake crossings discovered at the Hurden Rosshorn site. One Prehistoric pile dwelling settlement, Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum , was located on a former island and directly linked to these sea crossings. The Feldbach settlement was located at a 3 km footwalk distance to the north and the west. The Hurden Seefeld settlement
615-473: The Stadtpfarrkirche on Herrenberg next to Rapperswil Castle on Lindenhof hill . Known members of the family are Countess Elisabeth von Rapperswil (around 1252/62 –1309), her sons Wernher von Homberg , Reichsvogt and minnesang poet, and Count Johann I. von Habsburg-Laufenburg-Rapperswil (* around 1295/97, † 1337). His son Johann II († 1380), the opposition's leader against Rudolf Brun ,
656-722: The Polish Museum including the Polish national archive, the medieval Rathaus (town hall) located at the Hauptplatz square, and the Seedamm region including Heilig Hüsli and the remains of the prehistoric wooden bridges respectively the neolithic stilt house settlements located there. The latter are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps" . Located at
697-632: The Reformation's centre in the city of Zurich . The monastery buildings belong to the citizens of Rapperswil ( Endingen itself belongs to the Einsiedeln Abbey ) rather than to the monks who inhabit it, and is still in use. The main churches in town include the Roman Catholic St. John's Church (built in early 13th century), the cemetery chapel ( Liebfrauenkapelle ) and a small Protestant church. The locational advantage of
738-486: The Seedamm causeway and the Bahnhofstrasse road in Rapperswil every day. As of 30 June 2016, 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. Verkehrsbetriebe Z%C3%BCrichsee und Oberland Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO) is a public transport operator in
779-661: The Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as Class A objects of national importance. Rapperswil railway station is a nodal point of the IR Voralpen Express ( SOB ), the Zürich S-Bahn lines S5 , S7 , S15 and S40 , and the St. Gallen S-Bahn line S6 . This railway station is a 36-minute (S5/S15, combined quarter-hourly service) ride away from Zürich Hauptbahnhof and
820-550: The Old Swiss Confederation. Rapperswil was at first part of the Helvetic and the canton of Linth 's capital city. After the 1803 Act of Mediation , it joined the canton of St. Gallen , and the former Herrschaft Rapperswil was split into the municipalities of Rapperswil and Jona. On 1 January 2007 the former municipalities of Rapperswil and Jona merged to form a new political entity: Rapperswil-Jona has
861-678: The area were added. In 2008, the VZO started operating in Rapperswil-Jona, where it now operates five routes of the Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona on behalf of the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona. The area served includes the municipalities of Bäretswil , Bubikon , Dürnten , Egg , Erlenbach , Fischenthal , Gossau ZH , Grüningen , Herrliberg , Hinwil , Hombrechtikon , Männedorf , Meilen , Mönchaltorf , Oetwil am See , Rapperswil-Jona , Rüti , Seegräben , Stäfa , Uetikon am See , Uster , Wald and Wetzikon . In this area
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#1732779516236902-581: The company operates 55 daytime routes, and seven nighttime routes, with a total route length of 276 kilometres (171 mi). The routes are operated from depots in Grüningen, Wetzikon, Rüti and Meilen. The Zürichsee and Obersee lakeshore on the northeastern side are also provided by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland, furthermore the local buses within the localities Busskirch , Jona , Kempraten and Rapperswil of
943-620: The lake to Rapperswil. On the peninsula at Oberbollingen , the St. Nicholas Chapel is mentioned, where around 1229 a small Cistercian (later Premonstratensian) monastery was established by the house of Rapperswil; in 1267 it was united with the nearby Mariazell-Wurmsbach Abbey. St. Martin Busskirch is one of the oldest churches around upper Lake Zürich . Even the citizens of Rapperswil had to attend services in Busskirch until Count Rudolf II built
984-494: The mayor of Zurich , and was rebuilt in 1352/54 by Albrecht II, Duke of Austria . Deer inhabit lands surrounding the castle. Since 1870, the castle has been home to the Polish National Museum created by Polish émigrés, including the castle's lessee and restorer, Count Wladyslaw Broel-Plater . A small Capuchin's monastery was established in 1606 at the lakeside Endingerhorn as a Catholic counterpart to
1025-406: The mayor of Zürich, was arrested for two years, and the town walls of Rapperswil, its castle and Altendorf castle were destroyed by Brun in 1350. Between 1358 and 1360 Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria , built a wooden bridge across the lake that has been used to 1878 – measuring approximately 1,450 metres (4,757 ft) in length and 4 metres (13 ft) wide; 546 oak piles have been installed. In 1415,
1066-542: The municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen. The company operates a fleet of 88 buses, of which 48 are articulated buses, 35 are full-sized non-articulated buses, 3 are midibuses and 3 are minibuses. All buses are low-floored and have particulate filters. The standard livery is blue and grey, but buses used on the Rapperswil-Jona city bus network carry a red and grey scheme. Some buses carry non-standard colours. This article about transport in Europe
1107-490: The pilgrims towards Einsiedeln to cross the lake before the prehistoric bridge at the Seedamm isthmus was re-built in 1358 . Rapperswil Castle and the fortifications of the former locus Endingen (given by the Einsiedeln Abbey ) were built by the Counts of Rapperswil , i.e. by Rudolf II and his son Rudolf III von Rapperswil around 1200: The town was founded when the nobility of Rapperswil moved from Altendorf across
1148-744: The place attracted the national Circus Knie who built its headquarters in Rapperswil in 1919. The circus is now also responsible for the Circus Museum and the Knie's Kinderzoo located in Rapperswil which is particularly aimed at children. Rapperswil also hosts the Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil HSR (University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil) and an Economics school for parts of the cantons Zurich and St. Gallen. Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG ) operates passenger vessels on Lake Zurich ( Zürichsee ), connecting
1189-398: The population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 3.2% were Muslim, 4.3% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.6% did not give a religion, and 13.6% were atheist or agnostic. Zürichsee-Zeitung , a daily newspaper is situated in Stäfa. Internationally active high-tech companies Sonova (hearing care) and Sensirion (sensors) are based in Stäfa. Stäfa railway station
1230-543: The region between Lake Zürich and the Zürcher Oberland to the south-east of the city of Zürich in the canton of Zürich . It operates bus services between the various communities of this region and, since 2008, in the adjoining municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St Gallen . In the first half of the 20th century, the region between Lake Zürich and the Zürcher Oberland was served by
1271-635: The so-called Heilig Hüsli at the northwestern part of the Seedamm area. The three neighbouring Prehistoric settlements , as well as the early lake crossings, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps . In Kempraten , two kilometers away, there was a probably Helvetic settlement; and in the beginning of the 1st century AD, the Roman vicus Centum Prata (meaning 100 meadows ) became an important trade center on
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1312-618: The surrounding towns between Zürich-Bürkliplatz and the Rapperswil peninsula with its harbour area. Settlements in the region of Rapperswil date back to at least 5000 years ago. Archaeological relicts have been found at the Technikum island settlement , and the remains of a first wooden bridge (1523 BC, reconstructed in 2001) to Hurden located on the Obersee lakeshore nearby the Technical University (HSR) respectively
1353-593: The total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.5% of the area. As of 2007 35.8% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. It is located near Rapperswil on the north bank of the Lake Zürich in the Pfannenstiel region. Named after the Scottish Island of Staffa by a monk from Iona , in the local dialect it is called Stäfa . The early history of Stäfa
1394-621: The town bought freedom for itself. In 1442, during Old Zurich War , Rapperswil was in alliance with Zürich and the Habsburg Dynasty. In 1458 Rapperswil was controlled by the Swiss Confederation as a so-called Gemeine Herrschaft , i.e. under control of two cantons (Glarus and Schwyz) of the Old Swiss Confederation and their representative, a Vogt at Rapperswil castle. Because of its strategic location along important infrastructure lines, and because of flourishing trade,
1435-792: The town grew rich. This allowed a certain degree of freedom (especially within the Habsburg-controlled territories and) within the Swiss Confederation which ended with the formation of the Swiss cantons by Napoleon in 1799. In 1656 and 1712 (the First War of Villmergen and the Toggenburg War , or Second War of Villmergen, respectively), Rapperswil was involved in wars between the Catholic and Reformed cantons of
1476-652: The vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (20.1%), the FDP (16.2%) and the CSP (11%). The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.2%. In Stäfa about 80.5% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or
1517-586: The way to the Roman heartland. The neolithic bridge between Hurden and Rapperswil was renewed by the Romans at least around 165 AD. Historians mention a 10th-century ferry station assumably at the so-called Einsiedlerhaus in Rapperswil – in 981 AD as well as the vineyard on the Lindenhof hill – between Kempraten on Kempratnerbucht , Lützelau and Ufenau island and assumably present Hurden , which allowed
1558-472: The working population were employed full-time, and 44.7% were employed part-time. As of 2008 there were 3545 Catholics and 6005 Protestants in Stäfa. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the census, 50.9% were some type of Protestant, with 47.5% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 3.4% belonging to other Protestant churches. 27.2% of
1599-550: The year by the same company, links Stäfa with Wädenswil on the opposite shore of the lake. The railway station and landing stage are some 5 minutes walk apart. Local bus services are operated by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO) bus company. The town is well known for its cultural centre Rössli , located near the lake shore. Wine production is still important, particularly white wine ( Riesling ). Rapperswil Rapperswil ( Swiss German : [ˈrɑpːərʃˌʋiːl] or [ˈrɑpːərsˌʋiːl] ; short: Rappi )
1640-568: Was located close to the other end of the sea crossings, on the Hurden side. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around 4 metres (13 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft) under the water level of 406 metres (1,332 ft). 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
1681-452: Was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2018, the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. Over the last 5 years, the population has grown by 4.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (88.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.3%) and Albanian being third ( 1.4%). In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.8% of