Page 259 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

Did You Know?
Rapperswil-born
Marianne Ehrmann
was one of the first
German-speaking
female writers.

the traffic-free medieval
centre is a pleasant place to
stroll.Behind the lakeside
prom enade lie narrow streets
lined with houses fronted by
arcades, and small squares
with cafés and restaurants
serving fresh locally caught
fish. From May to October the
air is filled with the delicate
perfume of more than 15,000
roses. Known as the City of
in Switzerland. The farmhouse Roses, Rapperswil has more
Appenzeller Showcase where he was born in 1484 is than 16,000 roses flowering in
Dairy (Schaukäserei) open to visitors. Unterwasser walled gar dens, including one
' ⌂ Stein # May–Oct: is worth a visit too, for its within a Capuchin monastery
9am–6:30pm daily; Nov– impressive waterfall, the and a particularly serene one
Apr: 9am–5:30pm daily Thurwasserfälle. specially designed for the
∑ schaukaeserei.ch visually impaired and those
with mobility issues.
11 Besides the 15th-century
10 Rapperswil town hall and the parish
church, Rapperswil’s main
Toggenburg feature is its looming Gothic
! E3 n Fischmarktplatz 1;
! E3 n Wildhaus, www.rapperswil.ch castle, whose three forbidding
Hauptstrasse; www. towers rise above the town.
toggenburg.org This small town, in the canton From the castle there are
of St Gallen, sits on a promon- views of Zürich to the north
Washed by the River Thur, the tory on the north side of the and of the Glarus Alps to the
Toggenburg is a long valley Zürichsee. Although the southwest. The village makes
that lies on a north-south axis modern part of Rapperswil a good base for hiking in
between Wil and Wattwil, has nothing of great interest, summer and skiing in winter.
then veers eastwards just
above Alt St Johann, where it
becomes Oberes Toggenburg,
which then opens out onto
the Rhine valley.
The Toggenburg has over
300 km (185 miles) of marked
hiking and cycling trails, and
its gentle slopes provide easy
skiing pistes. The valley is
dotted with attractive small
towns and villages, among
them are Wil and Lichtensteig,
which has historic houses.
Wildhaus, a pleasant resort
at the eastern extremity of
Oberes Toggenburg, is the
birthplace of Ulrich Zwingli, An attractive rose garden in a courtyard
the leader of the Reformation of Rapperswil’s medieval castle
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