Lovely Lucerne, Switzerland
Lucerne is an ancient place, mentioned for the first time in historical records, as “Lucaria” in the year 840. With the opening of the St. Gotthard Pass over the Alps, the growing town began to develop into the major intersection for trade between the Upper Rhine and Lombardy. In 1332, Lucerne joined the Confederation of three original Swiss cantons.
Lucerne today is a busy tourist center and has a population of about 60,000. It owes its fame not only to its picturesque location on the Bay of Lake Lucerne and its sightseeing options, but also to its outstanding assortment of unique buildings. The old town area is famous for its frescoed houses and oriel windows, clear evidence of Medieval prosperity.
It’s the bridges most people remember about Lucerne and with good reason. Two covered bridges cross the River Ruess. Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) is the most famous and together with its octagonal water tower appears in just about every photograph ever taken of Lucerne. Lined with flowers, the bridge is definitely an eye-catcher. Unfortunately, the sides and gabled roof were burnt away when a tethered boat caught fire in 1993, a sad day for Lucerne and for us all. Under the replacement roof are scenes from national and local history, which are photo reproductions of the originals.
The other bridge, called Spreuerbrucke, dates from 1408 and likewise features pictorial scenes completed from 1625 to 1635. The artist, Caspar Meglinger chose a rather more macabre theme, The Dance of Death. In the center, a little chapel was added in 1568.
Sunrise over Lucerne’s most acclaimed peak, the 2,132-foot Mount Pilatus, has captivated hikers and artists for centuries. To gaze down from Mount Pilatus, you must first get a boat to Alpenachstad and ascend by the steepest cogwheel train in the world, so they claim. On a clear day you can see all the way to Italy. If you have at least five hours, the energy and inclination, you can hike the mountain.
The dying lion monument, dedicated to fallen Swiss soldiers, is a must-see in Lucerne. The Swiss have a long-standing tradition of supplying mercenaries to foreign governments. Because they have been politically neutral for centuries and have enjoyed a reputation for honoring their agreements, a pope or emperor, for example, could be confident his Swiss Guards would not turn on him when the political winds shifted.
The Swiss Guards’ honor was put the to test in the year 1792, when after trying to escape the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, along with Marie Antoinette and their children were hauled back to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. A mob of Parisians stormed the palace in search of them. More than 700 Swiss officers and soldiers died while defending the palace, without knowing the royals had already left the building.
In the early 1800s, the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen was hired to sculpt a monument to commemorate the fallen Swiss Guards. Carved into a sandstone cliff above the city center, the lion monument has attracted countless visitors since it was dedicated in 1821. Although the sculpture has words, the poignant expression on the lion’s face says it all. If you look too long, the realism of the dying lion becomes almost painful to the eye. The monument was described by Mark Twain as “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world,” and I would have to agree.
Nearby, the Glacier Garden, worth an hour or two, shows us that 20 million years ago Lucerne was a subtropical palm beach. For a small fee you can ponder the giant glacial potholes.
Most consider the Transport Museum to be the biggest and best museum in the city. It contains large halls filled with old trains, cable cars, airplanes and boats. A recent addition is an IMAX Theater. Lucerne also has museums dedicated to Picasso, Richard Wagner and natural history.
I chose to spend one afternoon aboard a lake steamer, touring a bit of Lake Lucerne. Switzerland has developed a network of more than 100 boats on 14 lakes to serve both tourists and its own citizens. Also on board were 25 or so beer-guzzling gentlemen singing to the music of an accordion player. According to my waiter, they were football (soccer to us) players from Austria heading for a weekend tournament.
In matching T-shirts and baseball caps, I knew they must be an organized group of some kind but their singing wasn’t good enough for a choir! It was obvious they were having a grand ole time and the waiter couldn’t bring the pitchers of beer fast enough.
Their singing and general carrying-on provided us average tourists with free entertainment during the three-hour round-trip journey. As a single female traveler, I’m afraid I attracted their attention, probably more than I’d have liked. But at one of our stops, the merry men abandoned ship, drunker than before, but still singing. But not before trying to convince me to join them for the big game the next day. Through an interpreter/accordion player, I declined the offer. Seeing them go, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief, especially the waiter! The remainder of the excursion was peaceful and pleasant.
Positioned in the center of Switzerland, Lucerne makes an excellent home base for exploring. If you plan to tour without a car, you should consider buying a Swiss Rail Pass before leaving home. Trains run hourly to/from Zurich or Interlaken and accommodations range from budget hostels to top-end hotels.
