Stadtpfarrkirche Rapperswil, Medieval parish church in Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland

Stadtpfarrkirche Rapperswil is a Gothic church building featuring two distinctive towers that reflect different construction phases. The northern tower dates from the original structure, while the southern tower was added in 1441 and gives the building its characteristic two-tower profile.

Count Rudolf II of Rapperswil built the church with the castle and town walls around 1220/29; the parish was founded in 1253 by Rudolf III and placed under John the Baptist's patronage. A fire on 30 January 1882 largely destroyed the building, sparing the Renaissance side altars and the sacristy treasure. Architect Xaver Müller, advised by Johann Rudolf Rahn, rebuilt it, and it was rededicated on 6 October 1885.

The church treasure, kept in the sacristy inside the southern tower, is among the richest in the Linth region, with works by the Rapperswil goldsmiths Breny, Dietrich, Dumeisen, Rüssi and Ysenschlegel. Since 1737 the Brotherhood of St. Cecilia and Catherine has supplied church music, drawing on some 1,000 compositions by Carl Greith and his father Franz Josef Greith, composer of the Rütli anthem.

The building is easily viewed from the street and shows its architecture clearly, allowing visitors to see both towers and the overall design at a glance. Walking around the structure lets you observe the different building rhythms and neo-Gothic features added during renovation.

The fire of 30 January 1882 spared the sacristy inside the southern tower, along with the church treasure kept there: goldsmith work by the Rapperswil masters Breny, Dietrich, Dumeisen, Rüssi and Ysenschlegel, counted among the richest in the Linth region. The Renaissance wing altars in the side chapels also survived because they had been moved during the Baroque period.