Sofie Hofmann dot com

Lucerne is a city in central Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Lucerne. It is also known as the tourist capital of Switzerland. Lucerne is quite very popular because of its Chapel Bridge and Water Tower aside from its location, being on the shore of Lake Lucerne or “Vierwaldstaettersee”.

The Wagenbach fountain in front of the Lucerne Culture and Convention Center was built in 1934 in memory of Xaver Wagenbach, a watchmaker who gave this fountain as a present to the city. The fountain was designed by Armin Meili. The water jets of the fountain reach almost to the roof.

The Lucerne Culture and Convention Center on Europa Square beside the lake and in the center of the city is the work of the Parisian architect Jean Nouvel. The concert hall with 1800 seats is one of the finest and leading concert halls in the world.

The octagonal water tower is over 34 meters high or 111.5 feet. It was built around 1300 as part of the city wall and was used as an archive, treasury, prison and torture chamber. It is the trademark of Lucerne and one of the most frequently photographed monuments in Switzerland.

The Chapel Bridge or “Kapellbrücke” is a 204 meter or 670 feet long wooden bridge originally built in 1333 but much of it had to be replaced after it was almost destroyed by a fire in 1993. The Chapel Bridge with its Water Tower is the most famous landmark of the city of Lucerne.

The paintings that were added in the 17th century illustrate scenes of Swiss and local history, including the biographies of St. Leodegar and St. Maurice, the patron saints of the city of Lucerne.

St. Francis Xavier Jesuit Church of Lucerne, constructed in 1666 to 1677, is the first large sacral Baroque church and the most important Baroque buildings in Switzerland as it marks the beginning of an artistic development that brought the country a complete architectural renewal.

The Lion Monument is one of most famous monuments in the world. It was carved out of natural rock in memory of the heroic deaths of hundreds of Swiss mercenaries during the French Revolution at the Tuileries in 1792. Mark Twain described “The dying Lion of Lucerne” as “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world”.

We went to Lucerne on November 08, 2006. We took the bus at 12:07 pm going to Kuessnacht am Rigi. We arrived in Kuessnacht am Rigi at 12:25 pm. Then we took the train at 12:28 pm going to Lucerne. We arrived in Lucerne at 12:45 pm. We spent the whole afternoon roaming around Lucerne. Despite that, we were still not able to really explore the whole city of Lucerne. My mother got tired and we called it a day. We rode the boat “WALDSTÄTTER” at 5:25 pm from Lucerne to Weggis. We arrived in Weggis at 5:59 pm.