Lucerne - a gem in the heart of Switzerland

Goethe described Switzerland as a combination of "the colossal and the well-ordered." One is always sure that the trains and letters will be on time. The tidy, just-so precision of Swiss towns is tempered by the lofty splendor of the landscapes that surround them. Fresh mountain air, clear blue lakes and clean cultured cities make Switzerland a dream come true.

A gem at the heart of Switzerland is Lucerne, lapped by scenic Lake Lucerne and surrounded by majestic snow-capped mountains - its striking skyline epitomizes the very essence of Switzerland. It is often considered to be the true "Swiss" capital. Charming Lucerne has an 'Old Town' center of 15th-century buildings with painted facades, towers, a 17th-century Renaissance town hall, old squares and picture-perfect medieval bridges adorned with rooftop art.

Any tour of Lucerne must begin with the 14th-century covered Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), the oldest road bridge in Europe, angled around the octagonal mid-river Wasserturm (water tower). Constructed in 1333 as a part of the city's fortifications and named after St. Peterskapelle (St. Peter's Chapel), which is located nearby, the wooden bridge has come to stand as the symbol of Lucerne. The principal historical interest of the bridge lay in its collection of double-sided triangular roof ceiling panels, painted by Heinrich Wägmann in 1614 with scenes from the city's historical past and mythological events, including the biographies of the city's patron saints, St. Leodegar and St. Maurice. Each is numbered, and captioned with rhyming couplets, the idiosyncratic local dialect written out in obscure medieval gothic script. The most distinctive image is panel no. 31, which shows William Tell shooting the apple from his son's head.

The water tower - over 34 meters high - was built around 1300 as part of the city wall and used as an archive, treasury, prison and torture chamber. It is Lucerne's landmark and the most frequently photographed monument in Switzerland. Kapellplatz, at the bridgehead of the Kapellbrücke, encircles the tiny 18th-century St. Peter's Chapel, built over a predecessor dating from as early as 1178. Some 150m west is Kornmarkt, site of the medieval public marketplace. On one side, overlooking the riverside market area of Unter der Egg, is the huge Rathaus, completed in 1606 in Italian Renaissance style but crowned with an oddly incongruous Emmentaler-style roof.

The twin needle towers of the church of St. Leodegar, which was named after the city's patron saint, sit on a small hill just above the lakefront. Originally built as a Benedictine monastery in 735, the present structure was erected in 1633 in the late Renaissance style. It is the most important Renaissance church in Switzerland. Especially noteworthy are the façade, Mary's altar (with a relief panel dating from 1500), and the souls' altar. The interior is richly decorated. The church is popularly called the Hofkirche (Hof Church).

Not far from the city center is is one of the world's most famous monuments, the dying Lion of Lucerne (Löwendenkmal), done by Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen) in 1819-21. It was carved out of natural rock in memory of the heroic deaths of some 800 Swiss guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when the mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, where King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and their children took refuge. Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Lucerne
• Switzerland
• Chapel
• Bridge
• Water
• Tower
• Rathaus
• Hof
• Church
• St.Leger
• St.Peter'sChapel
• LionofLucerne

[pnishagroupmenon]

Very nicely captured!

[emeritamanansala]

Many thanks! It's frustrating, though, to show beautiful Lucerne in a limited time of 10 minutes.

[philb65]

Switzerland is the most beautiful place on earth. I have been there many many times and cant wait to return.The people are wonderful,te country is fantastic.....Switzerland Love you Love you Love you.

[serje17]

In Lucerne I lived one of the best days of my life with a very special person. Such a wonderful town. I hope I can return one day.

What a nice video.

[lucernrox]

aaah Luzern, my brithplace, but indeed very boring

[scOasdRpionch]

@kc4ril u can't jump from the bridge but ther is a place wher u can swimm. i recomand u to go to the 1000 of rivers many place that u can make eavy jump like up to 7 10 meters

[ichipow]

You are very ignorant and rude!

[kc4ril]

Ok, thanks, and walking back should be know problem after traveling all the way back to Switzerland!!!

I will watch out for the whirls though, thanks for the advice!!!

[ulkuturum]

maybe because you have to walk all the way back :-) and reaching the big conrete columns by the bridge it's said to have whirls that can pull you down. yes i'm from lucerne. good luck...

[kc4ril]

Really? Ok, I'm a good swimmer and i will be cautious, i just thought it was strange because it was summer on a hot day and no one was swimming there! Why don't more people swim there? are you from Lucerne?

[eukias]

i did it. you should certainly be a good swimmer. there are some dangerous spots by the motorway bridge poles, but its truly fun...

[kc4ril]

I you grew up there can you please tell me, is it OK to jump off the wooden bridge and swim in the water??? Does anyone ever do it? Will i get in trouble? I visited about 8 years ago and I remember looking down into the crystal clear water and wanting to swim there, but my friends all said I would get in trouble! I hope to go back and theis time I would really like to swim there, have you ever done it???

[superhuegi]

"true "Swiss" capital. "?

No way

[wiggum100]

@mitchmitch sursee isn't really a great place.