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Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum is one of the 111 serial sites of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
''
Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps are a series of prehistoric pile dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from about 5000 to 500 BC on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. In 2011, 111 sites located various ...
'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Located on a small former island on '' upper Lake Zürich'' in
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 ...
, a locality of the municipality of
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 ...
. Due to its location on a former island at the medieval ''
Heilig Hüsli Heilig Hüsli (''Holy house'') is a bridge chapel in Rapperswil, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Geography The chapel is located next to the Seedamm, near the Rapperswil railway station. It is situated on a small island on upper Lake Zü ...
''
bridge chapel A bridge chapel is a small place of Christian worship, built either on, or immediately adjacent to, a road bridge; they were commonly established during pre-Reformation medieval era in Europe. Although sometimes built on land at the very start o ...
, the site sometimes is also referred to Rapperswil Heilighüsli or ''Inseldorf'', meaning ''island village''.


Geography

The site is located on a former island on '' upper Lake Zürich'' between the former ''Technicum'' university and the so-called
Heilig Hüsli Heilig Hüsli (''Holy house'') is a bridge chapel in Rapperswil, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Geography The chapel is located next to the Seedamm, near the Rapperswil railway station. It is situated on a small island on upper Lake Zü ...
bridge chapel in
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 ...
. Situated at the ''
Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the partially artificial causeway and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The Seedamm carries a road and a railway across the lake, with the railway being used by the ...
'', an isthmus between the ''
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 ...
'' and the ''Obersee'' lake area, the former island settlement was in close vicinity to the prehistoric lake crossings, and neighboured by three other Prehistoric pile dwelling settlements:
Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography The site is located on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore in H ...
,
Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography Hurden-Seefeld is located at the '' Frauenwinkel'' are ...
and
Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach or commonly Seegubel is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography '' Seegubel'' is lo ...
. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around under the water level of . The settlement comprises , and the buffer zone including the lake area comprises in all.


Description

Multiple palisades and a clear visible settlement structure, located on a former island in the Obersee, characterise the Early Bronze Age site dated in the 17th century BC. It points to the same period as the early footbridges across the
Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the partially artificial causeway and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The Seedamm carries a road and a railway across the lake, with the railway being used by the ...
between Rapperswil and Hurden-Rosshorn. The settlement was certainly of great importance as the centre of the region, and it may even have played a role in controlling this important transport route.


Finds

The finds include ceramic and dress pins, daggers, arrowheads, and fish hooks made of bronze, which were probably thrown as offerings into the lake. The individual finds are varied, including pottery shards, an almost completely preserved decorated ceramic vessel, a stone and a bronze ax and a piece of a gold wire; a rare golden object yet discovered from the Bronze Age in Switzerland. As remarkable is a mold made of
soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...
for razor of the so-called ''alpine type''. Such blades have been found in the Alpine region, where the soapstone comes from, so the settlement probably served as a hub for the trade with the Alpine passes.''Der See erzählt'', touring exhibition at ''Stadthaus Rapperswil'', 24 January 2011


Protection

As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlement is also listed in the
Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...
as a ''Class A'' object of national importance. Hence, the area of each settlement is provided as a historical site under federal protection, within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature and cultural heritage (German: Bundesgesetz über den Natur- und Heimatschutz NHG) of 1 July 1966. Unauthorised researching and purposeful gathering of findings represent a criminal offense according to Art. 24.


See also

*
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich comprises 11 – or 10% of all European pile dwelling sites – of a total of 56 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Lake Zurich in the Cantons ...


Literature

* Peter J. Suter, Helmut Schlichtherle et al.: ''Pfahlbauten – Palafittes – Palafitte''. Palafittes, Biel 2009. . * Beat Eberschweiler: ''Ur- und frühgeschichtliche Verkehrswege über den Zürichsee: Erste Ergebnisse aus den Taucharchäologischen Untersuchungen beim Seedamm''. In: Mitteilungen des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Schwyz, Volume 96, Schwyz 2004.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapperswil-Jona-Technikum Prehistoric pile dwellings in Switzerland Rapperswil-Jona Lake Zurich Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen Archaeological sites in Switzerland