LOVELY LUCERNE (Satis Shroff)

LOVELY LUCERNE (Satis Shroff)

Ah, Lucerne conjours images of the oldest timber bridge in Switzerland. Scenic mountains, chocolate melting in your mouth, delicious cheese: Gruyere, Emmentaler, Appenzeller and Sbrinz. Sbrinz needs 18 months to mature.

 The Spreuer Bridge was completed in 1408 as part of Lucerne’s fortifications, and the paintings on the bridge are fascinating. It features 67 paintings depicting a Dance Macabre.

The sea gulls are flying about the waterfront. Even the clock on the oldest Zyt tower dates back to 1535. And the clock chimes the hours one minute before all the clocks in the town, which is, indeed, a privilege.

The Musegg Wall with its nine towers forms a part of the historic town fortifications. It is a wonderful feeling to saunter along the Old Town’s picturesque squares, which are flanked by buildings bearing old frescoes. You walk along the wine market, the Mühlenplatz, the Hirschplatz and the Corn Market with the town hall and the guild hall (zu Pfistern) and scrutinize the frescoes.

The ‘Dying Lion of Lucerne’ is one of the most attractive monuments. It is carved out of rock, and has a bluish pond below, and commemorates the heroism of Swiss soldiers who died attempting to protect the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792 during the French Revolution.  Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as the ‘saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world.’

The town hall (Rathaus in German) was built in the Italian Renaissance style between 1602 and 1606, and shelters beneath a broad hipped roof. Beneath the open arcades along the river Reuss, you see the Swiss farmers selling their biological products in the weekly market. The Kornschutte, which was earlier a warehouse used by the citizens, is now an excellent place for Lucerne’s many exhibitions.

The Hof Church, which was originally Romanesque in conception, is dedicated to saint Leodegar and is Lucerne’s parish church.

The Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) was built in the first half of the 14^th century as part of Lucerne’s line of defence. The painted panels, which were added in the 17^th century, depicts scenes of Swiss and local history, especially the lives of Lucerne’s patron saints.

When you look at the waterfront, you’re attracted by the Water Tower (Wasserturm) which is an octagonal tower, looming 34 metres high, and was built around 1300. It has not only been used as an archive and treasury but also as a prison and torture chamber. Today, it is Lucerne’s trademark attraction, and is one of the most photographed monuments in Switzerland.

The Jesuits were called to Lucerne in 1574 and their living quarters became the Rittersche Palace, which was built in 1557 as a palazzo in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Today, the Rittersche Palace is the seat of the cantonal government. You’ll love the graceful inner courtyard of the building.

Much like Basle, there are many different museums in Lucerne. The Swiss Transport Museum is Switzerland’s most visited museums and the Rosengart Collection and Lucerne Museum of Art are a real treat for art lovers.

At the Alpineum you can view the giant paintings of the Switzerland’s Alpine regions and massifs of mountains such as: the Pilatus, Rigi, Gornergrat and Matterhorn. Then there’s the Glacier Garden Lucerne, which takes you on a trip through time from the palm beach by the sea to the glaciers of the last Ice Age. The Rosengart Museum has classic modernists, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee and twenty artists of the 19^th and 20^th century.

If you have a lot of time at your disposal, you can discover the delights of Lucerne and the Lake Lucerne area by taking boat trips to the lakes of the four cantons (Vierwaldstättersee), which is a fascinating experience. A ‘see’ is a lake in German. It might be mentioned that Lucerne has been declared a town in 1178. Work began on building fortifications soon thereafter, and went on until the 14^th century. The Wehr Tower (defence tower) gives you a commanding view of the city walls. The Musegg Wall is 870 metres in length. You can walk along the wall and some of its towers like a sentry.

When you take a walk from the Schweizerhof quai to the Churchill quai, you see the majestic Pilatus in the background. In the distance you can see the Titlis glacier. The Swiss mountains present themselves in a glorious range: Mount Rigi (1798m), Bürgenstock (1128m), Buochserhorn (1807m) and Stanserhorn (1898m).

When the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy visited Lucerne as a young man, he looked at the lakeside avenue, which he could see from his hotel room. Tolstoy wrote an account of his visit in which he unflatteringly described it merely as a vantage point for tourists.

Today, the panorama of the Swiss mountains and the lakeside overwhelms you with the breathtaking beauty of the place. You can walk from Schwanenplatz to the Swiss Museum of Transport along the water’s edge. It’s just great to stroll here in the sun.

The Lucerne and Lake Lucerne region are home to the world record holders of mountain railways. The world’s steepest cog railway runs between Alpnachstad and the summit of the Pilatus (2120m).

If you enjoy traditional folklore while eating Swiss food and drinking home-brewed beer then I’d suggest the restaurant Stadtkeller which serves good Swiss food to the accompaniment of yodel songs and alp-horns. A classical Lucerne dish is the Fritschi-pastete, also known as Chügeli-pastete, which used to be formerly served only during the Fasnet (carnival) season. Times have changed, tourism is in, and you can enjoy it throughout the year at the Zunft-restaurant Pfistern at the Kornmarkt.

‘What’s Chügeli?’ you might ask. It’s a richly decorated puff pastry casing that is baked blind and filled with creamy sauce of diced veal and pork, veal sausage, mushrooms, apple and raisins. Or are you on to vegetarian and vegan buffet? Tibits Lucerne (Zentralstrasse 1, near the railway station) is a good place. It serves 40 home-made salads and hot dishes. A leisurly meal and an interesting chat with a Lucerne lady. I loved it.

©satisshoff 2016