Lucerne, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein

While we were in the area, we went to Lucerne. Lucerne is about 50 km south-west of Zurich on the flanks of Mount Pilatus.  Lori and I originally visited here in 1984 on our bus tour of Europe along with our friend Mary. It would be interesting to see how my memories matched up with reality.

One of the most impressive sites we visited was the Lion of Lucerne.  This carved monument commemorates the Swiss Guards who lost their lives during the 1792 French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. On seeing the sculpture, it is said that Mark Twain commented that it was ‘the most mournful and moving pieces of stone in the world’.  Standing in front of this massive sculpture, the Lion of Lucerne does convey the sadness and is a touching tribute to the lives lost.

Lucerne is also home to the Chapel Bridge, the oldest known truss bridge still in use today, and the oldest surviving wooden covered bridge in Europe.  Walking along this 14th century bridge, originally built in 1365 and partially rebuilt in the 1990s after a fire, you can still see pictures of Swiss history painted in its eaves. The bridge provides a nice view of the properties lining the water.

The bridge is an impressive 672 feet long and connects with the Water Tower which was built as part of the city walls and was used variously as an archive, treasury, prison and torture chamber.

We visited several nice churches including St. Peters chapel This is an 18th century church built over the foundations of an earlier 12th century church. This is the church that the Chapel Bridge is named after.

We also visited St Leodegare which was built in 1633 on site of an 8th century church. This church has some very striking original wooden doors with metal decorative straps that served to secure the church in times of strife.



While driving from Lucerne to Milan –our stop for the night – we decided to head into Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is a small landlocked country between Switzerland and Austria.  Established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719, Liechtenstein was occupied by both French and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars and became a sovereign state in 1806. While it remains an independent nation, it is said to have close ties to Switzerland. The country’s low business tax is said to provide the state with 1/3 of its annual revenues.

There are 5 castles in Liechtenstein.  Two are still in normal use and thus are in very good condition. The other three are ruins.  We decided to visit two of the ruins first.

We managed to find Ober Burg (the Upper Castle) with the use of Google Maps – it is not very well marked.  You drive along a narrowing road that gradually becomes a dirt road which ends in a small field.  Looking up a small hill, you can see the ruined walls of the castle.

Ober Burg was built in 1250 AD and  abandoned in the 16th century. It, along with the Unter Burg (Lower Castle)  were recorded as ‘ruins’ in the 1616 census.

Unter Burg was also built in 1250 and abandoned in the 16th century. It was a bit easier to find as it is right off a street in the town. We had to climb a small hill to get there – as everywhere in Europe seems to be uphill – and had a great time just walking around the small ruins.

While leaving Liechtenstein, we also visited Castle Vaduz. Like the others, this castle was built around 1250 and became the home of the prince in 1938. Since it is a working castle and home of the head of state, it is not open to visitors but we managed to get a sense of the scale by checking out the outside of it.