Switzerland travel series - part 6 - Lucerne

Today I'm going to explore a city in central Switzerland called Lucerne. Do you want to join me?

Let's see what we can find there!

Lucerne is one of the most popular places in Switzerland. It attracts tourists with its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne and breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps. But this is not everything what Lucerne offers to its visitors..

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We came to the city on Saturday morning which is the busiest day of the week. People go to the city to meet their friends, have a cup of coffee or just walk around and enjoy this beautiful place. We also followed the trend and had a cup of coffee with delicious breakfast to start the day.

Bridges

Lucerne is famous for its two covered wooden bridges across the river Reuss. This bridge is called Spreuerbrücke (Spreuer Bridge).

The bridge got its name Spreuerbrücke because this was the only place from where the chaff from wheat could be deposited into the river.

The south wing of the bridge was built in 1408. The north wing was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The bridge contains 67 panels depicting the Dance of Death. These were created by Kaspar Meglinger and added in the 17th century.

It was interesting to walk on a construction that is more than 600 years old!

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Kapellbrücke (Chapel bridge) is just a few hundred meters away from the Spreuerbrücke. I considered this bridge to be the symbol of Lucerne.

The bridge was built in 1333 and destroyed in a fire in 1993. Luckily it was restored to its current appearance. It is 200 meters long and mostly crowded. It's impossible to walk fast and you need to be careful not to lose your children there 😊

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The triangular paintings under the eaves of their rooftops were added to the bridge in the 17th century. The paintings were done by artist Hans Wägmann and the text was written by councilman Hans Rudolf von Sonnenberg. I was not able to take a good photo of this artwork as it was very dark there, so you will have to come to Lucerne to see it 😊

The Wasserturm (Water tower) is one of the most well - known landmarks in the city. A very interesting fact about the tower is that it is thicker than it is high. It doesn't look like it, does it? It's 34.5 meters high and its circumference is 38 meters.

It served various purposes over the years. The lowest room was used as a prison. It was a pitch dark room and the prisoners were lowered into the cell through a hole while sitting on a toggle. Scary!

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Let's cross the bridge now, shall we?

When you are walking on the bridge you can enjoy some spectacular views of the city. On the left side there is a Jesuit church that was founded in 1534.

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The green alley with mountains in the back..

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On the top of the hill there is the Hotel Château Gütsch. The castle was built in 1888 as a private residence. It was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.

The castle was turned into a luxurious hotel in 2014 by Russian businessman Evgeny Lebedev.

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From the middle of the bridge we can admire the beautiful architecture of the old town.

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Approaching the end of the bridge we get to see more details on the buildings. The building with the plant growing all over the facade is my favorite!

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It's almost lunchtime and people are gathering in the restaurants, so we will head to the lake and hopefully there will be not that many tourists around. Don't worry, we have some snacks so you won't be hungry! 😊

Lake

Lake Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) is surrounded by four cantons: Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Lucerne and it is the fourth largest lake in Switzerland.

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There is a long lakefront promenade with many hotels and restaurants. And swans! Many of them!

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The views of the Swiss Alps are spectacular!

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You can go on a boat ride to get to the other parts of the lake..

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The weather was perfect for sailing. There were many boats of various sizes!

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The promenade continues behind the hotels and restaurants too. We walked for about 30 minutes until we reached a green spot. We sat there for a few moments, ate our snacks and returned back to the city as there was still so much to see!

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Old town

Are you tired already? Let's sit down in a church as it's too hot outside!

The Church of St. Leodegar is also knows as the Hof Church.

The first church was here in the 8th century but there are only a few original fragments left. It was built as a part of Benedictine monastery that founded Lucerne later on so in fact the church is older than the city itself!

The church as we see it today is built on a hill and can be visible from far away because of its Gothic twin towers that survived the fire in 1633. The rest of the church was rebuilt in Renaissance style between 1633 and 1644.

The white stone interior has rich wrought iron work, carvings, and gilt statues and altars.

St. Mary's Altar on the left is decorated with the relief panel from 1500.

The High Altar on the right was inspired by a Roman design and was built of black marble.

Are you ready to go back to the city?

First, we will visit the Lion Monument. It is a memorial for the soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives during the French Revolution. It represents a dying lion carved out in sandstone rock. It was designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and created by Lucas Ahorn in 1821 . It is located at the end of the city center and hidden behind the buildings so make sure not to miss it!

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Now we can look at the beautiful architecture of some buildings that I liked the most!

The Weinmarkt (Wine Market) is a lovely square in the old town. A lot of the buildings on this square have painted facades. I took this photo in the evening as there was an art market in the morning here and it was very busy.

The building in the back is called Haus zur Sonne and the painting on the facade is Marriage at Canaan created by Eduard Renggli in 1928

The fountain is a copy of the original which was built in 1481.

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Lucerne is famous for its buildings with beautifully painted facades. These two are just an example of what you can see there. The one on the right is a very popular restaurant. If you want to get a good table next to the river you need to make a reservation a few days in advance!

The Mühlenplatz on the left is a bucolic square at the west end of the old town. It is located close to the Spreuerbrücke.

Schwanenplatz on the right is the starting point for visitors to enter the old town. In the past the town ended here with a wall and a gate. Today the Kapellbrücke is ending here.

And so out tour is coming to the end too!

I hope you had fun with me today!

I would like to add that I was nominated for MySTEEM Angel by @see-it-feel-it and if you think I'm the right person for this title you can support me here. I will be grateful for every single vote! Thank you!

Cheers,

Martina

All pictures are taken by my Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II (except of the ones indicated in the text)

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