Rapperswil earns the name "Rose City" due to the over 20,000 roses blooming from May to October in the rose gardens near the Capuchin monastery and on the "Schanz."
The cultivation of roses within the city walls of Rapperswil likely dates back to a long tradition, as evidenced by the city's coat of arms featuring two red roses. It is known that as early as the 1830s, numerous gardens were laid out in the filled-in city moat and planted with roses.
Today, in addition to many private gardens, four public rose gardens adorn the old town of Rapperswil: the rose garden at the foot of the vineyard near the Capuchin monastery, the rose garden near the Einsiedlerhaus, the Mainau garden on Hintergasse, and the unique Fragrant Rose Garden for the blind and visually impaired on the "Schanz." The latter contains 1,522 plants of 75 special fragrant varieties, all labeled with braille (Braille script) and regular script.