Kempraten
Encyclopedia
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
. It is one of the most important archeological sites in the canton of St. Gallen and is located at the eastern parts of the upper Lake Zurich
.
village, and the remains of a first wooden bridge
(16th century B.C., reconstructed in 2001) to Hurden (SZ) located in the Seedamm
area near the Technical University of Rapperswil
(HSR), too.
Among the highlights of archaeological relicts include a Neolithic
site in Seegubel area and La Tène culture
body burials which indicates an early settlement. Linguists are speculating whether a Helvetii
c settlement Cambioratin (bay hill) has been established on the so-called Kempratnerbucht (Kempraten bay). Beginning in the 1st century A.D., the Roman
vicus Centum Prata (100 meadows) has been an important Roman settlement to secure the province borders, and was both a stage town on the intersection of the streets to Zürich
(Latin Turicum), Winterthur
(Vitudurum) via Irgenhausen
(Irgenhausen Castrum
) and to Chur
(Curia Rhaetorum) to Rome's alpine route. Centum prata was an economic center for the surrounding area, too, a residential and commercial area for artisans, traders, boatmen and carters living in it. It measured about 300 meters form north to south and 200 meters from west to east, including massive stone buildings, half-timbered and simple wooden houses. At Kempraten's Lake Zurich bay, the Roman transshipment harbour for goods was located that have been transported on the Roman streets, on the wooden bridge from Rapperswil to Hurden and on the waterway Zurich-Walensee. From here, there was probably a boat route to the Gallo-Roman sanctuary on Ufenau
island. After the Alamanni
c invasion and withdrawal of the Roman administration to Italy around the year 401 (488), the gallo-roman, probalby christianzed population has been still living there.
In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of St. Gallen Abbey describe the village as Centoprato, another document in 863 as Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name Centum Prata. According to a 9th century document, Kempraten was a well known pilgrimage
with relics of the martyr Alexander (legend of Theban Legion
). Around 847, legends tell of a pilgrimage basilica with a priest in Kentibruto, estimated to be the St. Ursula chapel built around 885. At the beginning of the 13th century, Kempraten was part of the Herrschaft Rapperswil by the Counts of Rapperswil. In 1253, it was part of the former parish church
Busskirch
. Today, this old Christian community belongs to the Catholic parish church Rapperswil-Jona. In his chronicle, Aegidius Tschudi (he also mentions a stone with Roman inscriptions near Jona) in 1443 (Old Zürich War
) mentions as military troops from the Old Swiss Confederacy
cantons of Uri, Zug and Glarus, fighting against Rapperswil, had their camp at the street to the Rüti Abbey
.
Beginning 1803, Kempraten was part of the former municipality Jona. On January 1, 2007, the former municipalities of Rapperswil
and Jona
merged to form a new political entity: Rapperswil-Jona
has a population of . This makes it the second largest town in the canton after the capital St. Gallen
itself.
on the line S7
. Its train station is a 36 minute ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof.
Rapperswil-Jona
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis 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, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...
, Wahlkreis (constituency) of See-Gaster
See-Gaster (Wahlkreis)
See-Gaster is a constituency in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Wahlkreis has been established on June 10, 2001 with an area of .It was formed from See District and Gaster District.-Demographics:...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of St. Gallen in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It is one of the most important archeological sites in the canton of St. Gallen and is located at the eastern parts of the upper Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates ....
.
History
Settlements in the region of Rapperswil-Jona date back at least 5000 years. Aerchological relicts have been found at the site of a Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
village, and the remains of a first wooden bridge
Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden
Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden is a wooden pedestrian bridge between the city of Rapperswil and the village of Hurden crossing the upper Lake Zürich in Switzerland. The prehistoric timber piles discovered to the west of the Seedamm date back to 1523 BC...
(16th century B.C., reconstructed in 2001) to Hurden (SZ) located in the Seedamm
Seedamm
Seedamm is the partially artificial dam and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden and Rapperswil .- Geography and location :...
area near the Technical University of Rapperswil
Rapperswil
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis 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, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...
(HSR), too.
Among the highlights of archaeological relicts include a Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
site in Seegubel area and La Tène culture
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
body burials which indicates an early settlement. Linguists are speculating whether a Helvetii
Helvetii
The Helvetii were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC...
c settlement Cambioratin (bay hill) has been established on the so-called Kempratnerbucht (Kempraten bay). Beginning in the 1st century A.D., the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
vicus Centum Prata (100 meadows) has been an important Roman settlement to secure the province borders, and was both a stage town on the intersection of the streets to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
(Latin Turicum), Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
(Vitudurum) via Irgenhausen
Irgenhausen
Irgenhausen is a village of the municipality of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland.-Geography:Irgenhausen is located in the district of Pfäffikon in the Zürcher Oberland on the eastern shore of the Pfäffikersee .-History:In Roman era, along Pfäffikersee there was a Roman road from...
(Irgenhausen Castrum
Irgenhausen Castrum
Irgenhausen Castrum is a Roman fort in Irgenhausen, Switzerland. It was a square fort, measuring in square, with four corner towers and three additional towers...
) and to Chur
Chur
Chur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
(Curia Rhaetorum) to Rome's alpine route. Centum prata was an economic center for the surrounding area, too, a residential and commercial area for artisans, traders, boatmen and carters living in it. It measured about 300 meters form north to south and 200 meters from west to east, including massive stone buildings, half-timbered and simple wooden houses. At Kempraten's Lake Zurich bay, the Roman transshipment harbour for goods was located that have been transported on the Roman streets, on the wooden bridge from Rapperswil to Hurden and on the waterway Zurich-Walensee. From here, there was probably a boat route to the Gallo-Roman sanctuary on Ufenau
Ufenau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach and Rapperswil .- Geography :...
island. After the Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
c invasion and withdrawal of the Roman administration to Italy around the year 401 (488), the gallo-roman, probalby christianzed population has been still living there.
In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of St. Gallen Abbey describe the village as Centoprato, another document in 863 as Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name Centum Prata. According to a 9th century document, Kempraten was a well known pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
with relics of the martyr Alexander (legend of Theban Legion
Theban Legion
The Theban Legion figures in Christian hagiography as an entire Roman legion — of "six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — who had converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together, in 286, according to the hagiographies of Saint Maurice, the chief among the Legion's...
). Around 847, legends tell of a pilgrimage basilica with a priest in Kentibruto, estimated to be the St. Ursula chapel built around 885. At the beginning of the 13th century, Kempraten was part of the Herrschaft Rapperswil by the Counts of Rapperswil. In 1253, it was part of the former parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
Busskirch
Busskirch
Busskirch is a village within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.- Geography :The village is located along the northern shore of the upper Lake Zurich between Jona and Bollingen...
. Today, this old Christian community belongs to the Catholic parish church Rapperswil-Jona. In his chronicle, Aegidius Tschudi (he also mentions a stone with Roman inscriptions near Jona) in 1443 (Old Zürich War
Old Zürich War
The Old Zürich War , 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg....
) mentions as military troops from the Old Swiss Confederacy
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
cantons of Uri, Zug and Glarus, fighting against Rapperswil, had their camp at the street to the Rüti Abbey
Rüti Abbey
Rüti Abbey was a former Premonstratensian abbey, founded in 1206 and suppressed in 1525, in the municipality of Rüti in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland...
.
Beginning 1803, Kempraten was part of the former municipality Jona. On January 1, 2007, the former municipalities of Rapperswil
Rapperswil
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis 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, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...
and Jona
Jona
Jona is a former municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.- Geography :Jona is located at the eastern shore of Lake Zürich...
merged to form a new political entity: Rapperswil-Jona
Rapperswil-Jona
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis 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, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...
has a population of . This makes it the second largest town in the canton after the capital St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
itself.
Transport
Kempraten is a stop of the Zürich S-BahnZürich S-Bahn
The Zurich S-Bahn system is a network of rapid transit rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighboring cantons The Zurich S-Bahn system is a network of rapid transit rail lines that has been...
on the line S7
S7 (ZVV)
The S7 is a regional railway line of the Zürich S-Bahn on the ZVV and is one of the network's trunk lines.- Route :...
. Its train station is a 36 minute ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof.
Literature
- Georg Matter: Die Römersiedlung Kempraten und ihre Umgebung. Jona 2003.
- D. Hintermann: Der römische Vicus von Kempraten. In: HA 106-108, 1996, p. 128-136.
- G. Matter: Der römische Vicus von Kempraten. In: JbSGUF 82, 1999, p. 183-211.
- Lukas Gschwend: Kempraten vor 1250 Jahren – Ein Beitrag zur ersten schriftlichen Nennung im Jahre 741. Verlag der Kulturkommission der Gemeinde Jona, 1991.
- Eugen Halter: Geschichte der Gemeinde Jona. Schweizer Verlagshaus, Zürich 1970.
- L. Kilger: Wallfahrts-Geschichten aus Kempraten um das Jahr 835. In: Heimatkunde vom Linthgebiet, Band 15, 1943, p. 9-12.
External links
- Rapperswil-Jona (official site)
- Römersiedlung Kempraten