Sights in Lucerne
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Lake Lucerne
If you're not averse to breathtaking mountain scenery - perhaps a glance or two at a shimmering expanse of water with majestic steep peaks of limestone hunched over the coastline, forests coming down to the shore filled with deer, chamois, foxes, and Alpine-native marmots; and fertile hillsides, meadows and valleys beyond - then this lake won't disappoint.
The lake's northern point is expansive; the southern spur (Urnersee) is more fjord-like and has special significance for the Swiss as it's home to the Rütli meadow where the country was, in a way, born. The southern springs (now marked by the Kaltbad) were discovered to have curative properties, as far back in 1885. You…
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Lion Monument
Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen's Lion of Lucerne (Löwendenkmal) was built in 1819-21, a big dying beast sculptured into a former sandstone quarry wall. When author Mark Twain saw it he said it was the 'saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world'.
The Lion Monument commemorates (as the plaque says in Latin) the 'loyalty and bravery of the Swiss' who 'fell in the line of duty' or 'survived the battle through the care and attention of friends' during the French Revolution in 1792 while defending King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and their children in Paris's Tuileries Palace. Some 800 Swiss mercenaries died while defending the palace, unaware that their royal emplo…
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Kapellbrücke
Crossing the Reuss River in the Old Town, this bridge is Lucerne's most potent symbol. It dates from the 14th century and the octagonal water tower remains original. However its sides and gabled roof are modern reconstructions, rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1993.
The bridge is famous for the triangular, painted roof panels that line its ceiling, created by Heinrich Wägmann in 1614 and depicting important events from Swiss history and mythology. Fortunately, some 30 of these were also rescued from the blaze and have been replaced at either end of the bridge. Gaps between them have been retained as a constant reminder of the loss of others.
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Kultur und Kongresszentrum
With striking angles and clean lines, Parisian architect Jean Nouvel’s waterfront Kultur und Kongresszentrum is a post-modern marvel in an otherwise historic city. But don’t think a pretty face implies a superficial soul: the main concert hall’s acoustics are as close to perfect as humankind has ever known, according to many musicians and conductors who have performed here. The trick is that the tall, narrow concert hall, partly built below the lake’s surface, is surrounded by a reverberation chamber and has an adjustable suspended ceiling, all creating a bubble of silence.
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Spreuer Bridge
After fire destroyed the Kapellbrücke, the wooden Spreuer Bridge (Spreuerbrücke), zigzagging across the Reuss, became Lucerne's oldest bridge. It was built in 1407 and its 17th-century roof paintings remain intact, detailing 56 movie-storyboard-style scenes by Caspar Meglinger, called The Dance of Death.
In each scene Death may change his garb but his mocking smile never wavers as he shows no mercy to the painted facsimiles of priests, nuns, warriors, royalty, academics, the hunter, the young bride, and even the artist himself.
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Sammlung Rosengart
Lucerne’s blockbuster cultural attraction is the Sammlung Rosengart, occupying a graceful neoclassical pile. It showcases the outstanding stash of Angela Rosengart, a Swiss art dealer and close friend of Picasso. Alongside works by the great Spanish master are paintings and sketches by Cézanne, Klee, Kandinsky, Miró, Matisse and Monet. Standouts include Joan Miró’s electric-blue Dancer II (1925) and Paul Klee’s childlike X-chen (1938).
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Löwendenkmal
Weird and wondrous Victorian attractions lure nostalgia buffs north of the Old Town. By far the most touching is the Löwendenkmal. Lukas Ahorn carved this 10m-long sculpture of a dying lion into the rock face in 1820 to commemorate Swiss soldiers who died defending King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Mark Twain once called it the ‘saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world’. For Narnia fans, it often evokes Aslan at the stone table.
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Natur-Museum
Anyone intrigued by stuffed critters and creepy crawlies shouldn’t miss the hands-on Natur-Museum. Highlights feature a woodland trail with real trees and a mushroom computer (don’t eat the red spotty ones). Keep your peepers open, too, for the fabled Luzerner Drachenstein, which, according to legend, fell from a dragon’s mouth as it was flying over Mt Pilatus. Modern science suggests that the 15th century stone was probably a meteorite.
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Museggmauer
For a bird’s-eye view over Lucerne’s rooftops to the glittering lake and mountains beyond, wander the medieval Museggmauer. A walkway is open between the Schirmerturm (tower), where you enter, and the Wachturm, from where you have to retrace your steps. You can also ascend and descend the Zytturm or Männliturm (the latter not connected to the ramparts walkway).
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Picasso Museum
Don't arrive at the Picasso Museum expecting to find many of the man's works. Although it does include a few ceramics and sketches, this is principally a portrait of the artist as an impish craftsman, lover and father. Nearly 200 photographs by David Douglas Duncan create a captivating picture of the last 17 years of Picasso's life with his family in their Cannes home. It's a uniquely revealing series.
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Verkehrshaus
It mightn’t sound like an exciting way to pass an afternoon, but the interactive Verkehrshaus is actually fascinating. Alongside space rockets, steam locomotives, flying bicycles and dugout canoes are hands-on activities such as flight simulators, broadcasting studios and a shadow orchestra translating movement to music.
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Gletschergarten
Gletschergarten is a strip of rock bearing the scars (including huge potholes) inflicted on it by the glacier that slid over it some 20 million years ago. Cult kitsch fans love getting lost in the Thousand and One Nights –style mirror maze inspired by Spain’s Alhambra Palace.
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Bourbaki Panorama
History buffs might enjoy the Bourbaki Panorama. This painstakingly detailed depiction of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, with a moving narrative (also in English), brings to life the 1100-sq-metre circular painting of miserable-looking troops and civilians.
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Historisches Museum
The HistorischesMuseum is cleverly organised into a series of attention-grabbing themes, from lust and lasciviousness to government and tourism. Pick up a barcode-reading audio-guide and let yourself be guided through your chosen story in German or English.
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Richard Wagner Museum
Housed in the composer’s former residence in Tribschen, on the lake’s southern shore, the RichardWagnerMuseum harbours historic musical instruments including rarities such as a regal (portable organ). Take bus 6, 7 or 8 from the train station to Wartegg.
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Kunstmuseum
The permanent collection in Kunstmuseum is pretty uninspiring, but keep an eye out for temporary exhibitions such as the recent retrospective of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s enigmatic photography.
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