Morning found us on an early train to Lucerne. The day was sunny and warm. We were excited to visit this historic city on our last day in Switzerland. Leaving the train station, we found ourselves in the heart of the city. Here is a photo of the original portal to the station. It was part of the original station which was erected in 1896. That station, with the exception of the portal, was completely destroyed by fire in February 1971.
For more information about the station you can click on this link to Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne_railway_station.
The station faces Lake Lucerne, the fourth largest lake in Switzerland. The view, as we passed under the portal, of the lake, and all that is built around it, is lovely. I especially liked this relaxed shot which peeks at the lake beyond the willows. And, to think that we were in the heart of a busy, exciting city.
Here is a photo of the Chapel Bridge which diagonally spans Lake Lucerne.
This wooden bridge, which is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe, is highlighted with panel paintings of life in Lucerne.
For more about the bridge click on this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapellbrücke
We were also treated to this solitary swan gliding along in the heart of the city on Lake Lucerne.
I just like this photo of reflections on Lake Lucerne.
One of the first places we visited was the Jesuit Church which sits on the banks of the lake. It is the first large baroque church built in Switzerland north of the Alps.
Construction of the church began in 1667. By 1673 the shell of the church and the main façade were completed. The church was consecrated in 1677, though the interior was not yet really finished. Several side altars were still missing and even the high altar, due to financial problems, was only erected four years later. The onion topped towers were not completed until 1893. Here are a few shots inside this magnificent building.
We crossed to the other side looking for a place for lunch. The day was absolutely glorious and we decided to lunch at La Terrazza on a balcony overlooking the lake.
Here is a photo taken from our balcony.
After lunch we decided to stroll along a pedestrian thoroughfare in search of the Lion of Lucerne, a monument dedicated to the Swiss Guards who protected Louis XVI and who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
The monument is dedicated Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti (“To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss”). The dying lion is portrayed impaled by a spear, covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland. The inscription below the sculpture lists the names of the officers and gives the approximate numbers of soldiers who died (DCCLX = 760), and survived (CCCL = 350).
I think this photo of the grotto and a solitary individual, sitting cross legged and working on a painting of the sculpture, is an interesting study.
We then retraced our steps along the pedestrian path, window shopping as we went. The following photos are of the sights along the way.
JoAnn and I decided to detour in search of the city wall as we made our way back. The city has hills around it and these views provide an idea of the environment.
We could even see the snow capped mountains in the distance.
We found the wall, high on a hill, but it was closed and we couldn’t climb up to look down on the city. The walls have nine towers and were built around Lucerne beginning in the 13th century.
As we were returning, we saw Jimmy and Barbara waiting for us.
As we sat down with them, I took a shot of this lovely building directly across from our bench.
Then it was back to the train station, seen here in the distance . . .
. . . and our train back to Basel.
Travels with Cappy 