municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It lies north of the capital
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of
Ruppoldsried
Ruppoldsried is a former municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 Ruppoldsried merged into Rapperswil.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2013 On 1 January 2016 the former municipality of Bangerten merged into Rapperswil.
History
Rapperswil is first mentioned in 1241 as ''Raverswiler''.
The oldest trace of a settlement in Rapperswil is a
Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
settlement or estate on the site of the current village church. This, together with a foundation at Unteren Leenwald, money at Moosaffoltern (coins) and brick fragments at Holzhäusern indicate that there were scattered small settlements here during the Roman era. Grave mounds and a
High Medieval
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
earthen fort show that the area remained settled after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The village was originally part of the Zähringen lands. After the Zähringen family died out, it was inherited by the Kyburgs.
Starting in 1262, the low court rights and pieces of property were gradually sold or gifted to Frienisberg Abbey and other monasteries. The lower court rights were held by a number of monasteries. The court in Rapperswil and Wierezwil was held by Frienisberg Abbey, Seewil and Moosaffoltern by
Münchenbuchsee
Münchenbuchsee is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. It is famous a ...
Cathedral chapter
According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. Dieterswil-Zimlisberg-Zuzwil had their own court in the community. The high court for all the villages was held by the Kyburg bailiffs until 1406, when it went to the District Court in
Zollikofen
Zollikofen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is a suburb of the city of Bern.
It is home to the Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL).
Geography
Zollikofen has an area of . Of th ...
. In 1528, these villages came under Bernese control and the various lower courts were divided among five
bailiff
A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary.
Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
s. They were first united in 1803 in the Aarberg District.
A village priest was first mentioned in 1241. In 1263, the Kyburgs granted the church to Frienisberg Abbey. The old church was replaced by a new building in 1860–62. The
parsonage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...
is located on the foundations of a medieval sanctuary.
In 1849-52 the Bern-Buren road was built which helped tie the isolated farming villages together into a community. The population in the municipality declined from 1850 to 1940 as the farms changed from growing crops to dairy farming and became increasingly mechanized. However, agriculture remained an important part of the economy. In 2005, just over one-quarter of all jobs in the municipality were in agriculture. In addition to agriculture, there are several small businesses and a brick factory in Rapperswil.
Ruppoldsried
Ruppoldsried is first mentioned in 1279 as ''Ruopolsriet''.
During the
Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
the village was owned by the von Ergeuw family from Burgdorf. The family is mentioned in 1373 during a dispute over land use near the village. At some time before 1506, Konrad von Ergeuw sold the village to
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. Under Bernese control Ruppoldsried was placed under the control and low court of Mülchi. It was part of the high court of
Zollikofen
Zollikofen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is a suburb of the city of Bern.
It is home to the Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL).
Geography
Zollikofen has an area of . Of th ...
.
The residents were part of the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
Messen
Messen is a municipality in the district of Bucheggberg, in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Balm bei Messen, Brunnenthal and Oberramsern merged into the municipality of Messen.
History
Messen is ...
in Solothurn. In the 16th century, when Messen embraced the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
and adopted the Reformed faith, Ruppoldsried followed.
Beginning in the 19th century local farmers began to raise dairy cattle along with traditional agriculture. The village dairy was built in 1884. Today Ruppoldsried and Messen form an intercantonal school district. The village has regular
Postauto
PostAuto Switzerland, PostBus Ltd. (known as in Swiss Standard German (), in Swiss French (), in Swiss Italian (), and in Romansh () is a subsidiary company of the Swiss Post, which provides regional and rural bus services throughout Switz ...
service from Bern and
Lyss
Lyss () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Seeland (administrative district), Seeland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2011, the former municip ...
. It has retained much of its rural, agrarian character, today nearly two thirds of all jobs in Ruppoldsried are in agriculture.
Bangerten
Bangerten is first mentioned in 1263 as ''Bongarthen''.
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 Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
coins
A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
have been found in Bangerten. In the 13th and 14th Centuries the Order of St. John in
Münchenbuchsee
Münchenbuchsee is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. It is famous a ...
bought out most of the earlier land owners, including the Burgdorf Family von
Steffisburg
Steffisburg is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2020 the former municipality of Schwendibach merged into the municipality of Steffisburg.
History
Steffisburg is first m ...
. Following the
Secularization
In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
of the monasteries (1528), Bangerten became part of the ''
Landvogtei
An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
'' of Münchenbuchsee.
The municipality has remained generally agrarian. In 1990, 24 of the 42 workers in the village worked in agriculture. Due to agreements with neighboring municipalities, the small municipality has been able to function with limited local infrastructure. Bangerten shares the
vital records
Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some j ...
and welfare office with Etzelkofen, a primary school with Scheunen and a secondary school with Rapperswil.
Geography
Rapperswil has an area of . Of the area before the 2016 merger, or 62.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 28.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 8.6% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.1% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.1%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 49.1% is used for growing crops and 12.3% is pastures, while 1.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
It lies on the Rapperswil Plateau in the Swiss Plateau and stretches between the valleys of the Limpach in the north and the
Lyss
Lyss () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Seeland (administrative district), Seeland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2011, the former municip ...
in the south.
Communities
There are ten communities within the municipality:
*Rapperswil (), at the entrance of the Wilbach stream, with the hamlet Habanger () west of the Wilbach, population 583.
*Wierezwil () on the western plateau, with the hamlet Rüberi (), population 164.
*Frauchwil () in the valley of the Hohschwerzibach stream, population 81.
*Zimlisberg () on the eastern plateau, with the hamlet Holzhäusern (), population 121.
*Bittwil () on the plateau south of the Limpach, population 68.
*Vogelsang () in a clearing in the Buechwald forest, population 58.
*Seewil () on the plateau between the Hardwald forest and Äckenberg, population 209.
*Dieterswil () on the plateau north of Äckenberg, population 262.
*Moosaffoltern () on the plateau south of Oberholzes, in the Moossee valley, population 90.
*Lätti () in the northern valley branch of the Moossee valley, population 449.
Coat of arms
The
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the municipal
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Per fess Argent and Gules in chief a Crow passant Sable.''
Demographics
Rapperswil has a population () of . , 4.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Statistical office of the Canton of Bern accessed 4 January 2012 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 4.4%. Migration accounted for 4%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.9%. accessed 11-May-2012
Most of the population () speaks
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
(1,898 or 95.4%) as their first language,
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
is the second most common (28 or 1.4%) and
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
is the third (14 or 0.7%). There are 7 people who speak
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
, the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 1,030 Swiss men (48.8% of the population) and 45 (2.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 995 Swiss women (47.1%) and 41 (1.9%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 740 or about 37.2% were born in Rapperswil and lived there in 2000. There were 829 or 41.7% who were born in the same canton, while 233 or 11.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 129 or 6.5% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.3%.
, there were 810 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,025 married individuals, 94 widows or widowers and 61 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000 accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 200 households that consist of only one person and 77 households with five or more people. , a total of 748 apartments (92.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 47 apartments (5.8%) were seasonally occupied and 16 apartments (2.0%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.4 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.31%.
The entire village of Bangerten is designated as part of the
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.
Sites of national importance
Types
The types are based on t ...
.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP Party (18.6%), the SPS (14.3%) and the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
(8%). In the federal election, a total of 892 votes were cast, and the
voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...
, Rapperswil had an unemployment rate of 0.91%. , there were a total of 717 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 187 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 66 businesses involved in this sector. 263 people were employed in the
secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there were 30 businesses in this sector. 267 people were employed in the
tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
, with 65 businesses in this sector.
there were a total of 557
full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit of measurement that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often use ...
jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 117, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 245 of which 162 or (66.1%) were in manufacturing and 79 (32.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 195. In the tertiary sector; 60 or 30.8% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 10 or 5.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 35 or 17.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.0% were in the information industry, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 29 or 14.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 31 or 15.9% were in education and 8 or 4.1% were in health care.
, there were 211 workers who commuted into the municipality and 728 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 18.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 50.5% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 140 or 7.0% were
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, while 1,587 or 79.7% belonged to the
Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 8 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.40% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 53 individuals (or about 2.66% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who were
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 15 (or about 0.75% of the population) who were
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic. There were 10 individuals who were
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 123 (or about 6.18% of the population) belonged to no church, are
agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
or
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 75 individuals (or about 3.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Rapperswil about 794 or (39.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory
upper secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
, and 283 or (14.2%) have completed additional higher education (either
university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
or a ''
Fachhochschule
A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). Of the 283 who completed tertiary schooling, 70.0% were Swiss men, 25.4% were Swiss women, 3.5% were non-Swiss men.
The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...
.
During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 370 students attending classes in Rapperswil. There were 2 kindergarten classes with a total of 40 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 5.0% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 22.5% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 8 primary classes and 143 students. Of the primary students, 6.3% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 8.4% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 10 lower secondary classes with a total of 187 students.Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document accessed 4 January 2012
, there were 64 students in Rapperswil who came from another municipality, while 77 residents attended schools outside the municipality.