Busskirch is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Rapperswil-Jona 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, B ...

in the

canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Jona (SG) - Busskirch St Martin IMG 2217 ShiftN

Geography

The village is located along the northern shore of the ''Obersee'' lakeshore between

Jona Jona may refer to: * Jona, Switzerland, a village of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland * Jona (river), in the cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen in Switzerland * Jona (album), ''Jona'' (album), an album by Jona Viray People with the giv ...

and

Bollingen Bollingen is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. Geography The village is located along the northern shore of the upper Lake Zürich (''Obersee'') between Jona and Schmeriko ...

. Busskirch was part of the former municipality of Jona: On January 1, 2007, the former municipalities of

Rapperswil Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...

and Jona merged to form the new political entity

History

Roman era

Beginning in the 1st century A.D., Busskirch was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

lakeside settlement that served as a stage town on the intersection of the streets to

Kempraten 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 ...

(Latin: ''

Centum Prata 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 importa ...

'') respectively Zürich (''

Turicum Turicum was a Gallo-Roman settlement at the lower end of Lake Zurich, and precursor of the city of Zürich. It was situated within the Roman province of Gallia Belgica (from AD 90 Germania Superior) and near the border to the province of Raetia; ...

''), Winterthur (''

Vitudurum Vitudurum (sometimes Vitodorum) is the name of a Roman ''vicus'', those remains are located in Oberwinterthur, a locality of the municipality of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography The majority of the remains of com ...

'') and to

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

(''Curia Rhaetorum'') respectively on the waterway

Walensee The Walensee, also known as ''Lake Walen'' or ''Lake Walenstadt'' from Walenstadt, is one of the larger lakes in Switzerland, with about two thirds of its area in the Canton of St. Gallen and about one third in the Canton of Glarus. Other towns an ...

–

Zürichsee __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich (Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...

to Rome's

alpine route An alpine route is a trail or climbing route through difficult terrain in high mountains such as the Alps, sometimes with no obvious path. In the Alps, the Alpine clubs define and mark an ''alpine route'', also called ''alpinweg'' or ''alpinwande ...

St. Martin Busskirch church

Busskirch is first mentioned in 842/843 A.D. as ''Fossonas ecclesiam'', in 854 as ''Fussinchirichun'' and in 1209 as ''Buschilche''. «''A little church dreaming on the lake''» wrote Pius Rickenmann, a poet from Rapperswil, in his poem ''Busskirch''. The early medieval

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of ''St. Martin Busskirch'' with its cemetery rests on the remains of a Roman building (1st to 4th century A.D.). Beginning in the 8th century, the village belonged to the Pfäfers Abbey. Busskirch is one of the oldest churches around the Lake Zürich. Even the citizens of

had to attend services in Busskirch until Count Rudolf II of Rapperswil built his own church and a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

next to

Rapperswil Castle Rapperswil Castle ( Swiss German: ''Schloss Rapperswil'') is a castle, built in the early 13th century by the House of Rapperswil, in the formerly independent city of Rapperswil. The castle is located on the eastern '' Zürichsees western '' ...

in 1253. In 1351 ''St. Martin Busskirch'' was incorporated by the monastery (until 1838). In co-operation with

the settlement formed an ''Allmendgenossenschaft'' (farmer's association), reigned by the

Counts of Rapperswil The House of Rapperswil respectively Counts of Rapperswil (''Grafen von Rapperwil'' since 1233, before ''Lords'') ruled the upper ''Zürichsee'' and ''Seedamm'' region around Rapperswil and parts of, as of today, Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, Gl ...

, latter by the city of Rapperswil. In 1253 the parish churches of Rapperswil (''St. John's Church'') and Jona were established: ''St. Martin Busskirch'' lost its former importance and was in 1945 integrated in the Roman Catholic parish Rapperswil.

Points of interest

''St. Martin Busskirch'' Church, which due to its idyllic lakeside location is very popular for weddings, is a remarkable landmark on the upper Lake Zürich shore. Today visitors can see the Roman ruins excavated in 1975 underneath Busskirch church. Restaurant ''Seegartenkeller'' next to ''St. Martin'' church is a popular touristic destination.

Jona (river) The Jona is a river in the Swiss cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen. Geography The Jona rises on the eastern slope of Bachtel hill near Gibswil and Fischenthal in the Zürcher Oberland. Passing an impressive waterfall, the river flows near t ...

forms a small

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...

near Busskirch and flows at ''Stampf'' lido in the upper Lake Zurich (''Obersee'').

Transportation

Between Busskirch and

respectively

there is a busline, provided by ''Verkehrsbetriebe

Zürcher Oberland The Zürcher Oberland ("Zurich highlands") in Switzerland, is the hilly south-eastern part of the canton of Zurich, bordering on the Toggenburg, including the districts of Uster, Hinwil, Pfäffikon as well as the Töss Valley as far as the dist ...

References

Literature

* Eugen Halter: ''Geschichte der Gemeinde Jona''. Schweizer Verlagshaus, Zürich 1970.

External links

Rapperswil-Jona
(official site) * {{authority control Villages in the canton of St. Gallen Former municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen Archaeological sites in Switzerland Rapperswil-Jona Populated places on Lake Zurich