Lucerne History , Switzerland

Lucerne really started to take off with the opening of the St Gotthard Pass route in the 13th century, which linked the northern part of Switzerland with the Italian-speaking part, Ticino. Goods were subsequently able to be shipped over the Alps and trade in Lucerne boomed.
Towards the end of the 13th century, Lucerne was taken by the powerful Habsburgs (1291) and would later join the Swiss Confederation in 1332. Lucerne continued to prosper, with goods shipped in from Germany in the north and Italy in the south, yet the city was all but destroyed in 1601, when an earthquake shook Lake Lucerne, sending a three-metre tsunami over the town. The wave continually pounded the city, leaving many dead and flattening numerous buildings.


Another significant event in Lucerne's history was the peasants' revolt in the 17th century, to which Lucerne was a key player in 1653. Towards the end of the 18th century, Lucerne became the capital of the Napoleonic Helvetian Republic for five years until 1803; while nearly 40 years later, in 1841, Lucerne withdrew from the Swiss Confederation. This act lead to the Sonderbund War of 1847, which brought Lucerne back into line a year later.



Lucerne has continued to prosper from trade and especially tourism, where the opening of the St Gotthard Railway in 1881 and the opening of the St Gotthard Expressway road tunnel 99 years later opened the city up, capturing first the rail and then the motorway traffic from Italy and Germany. The establishment of ship transport on Lake Lucerne also had a huge impact on Lucerne.
Today, Lucerne attracts thousands of tourists throughout the year, who come to enjoy its picture postcard setting between mountains and lake, and to access the world-famous ski resorts of the region.


General Information


The town is loaded with numerous worthwhile sights and is easy to get about on foot. Located just to the north of the river, the Old Town harbours the majority of the city's attractions and comes complete with half-timbered, painted buildings and medieval squares that brim with shops and terrace cafes. There are also many museums and churches in this part of the town, while the impressive Hofkirche, with its massive towers and equally impressive pipe organ, resides on a hill overlooking the town and lake.


Major attractions include the Lion Monument, one of Lucerne's highlights situated in the centre of town, and the brilliant Swiss Transport Museum, the biggest of its kind in Europe. There are many other excellent museums worth a look and the best thing is that the town is compact enough to visit most of its attraction in just one day.



Shopping is one of Lucerne's strengths, with several top quality department stores and shopping centres as well as numerous souvenir shops and handicraft outlets. Cafes and restaurants are also here in their numbers, particularly in the Old Town, on the right bank overlooking the river.
Lake Lucerne is not only a thing of great beauty; it also offers visitors a chance to see Lucerne from the water and to take part in a range of water-based activities. Steamboat cruises are very popular and often run year-round, while windsurfing, sailing and swimming are also on offer.

Although Lucerne is a friendly town, like elsewhere in Switzerland, the locals tend to be formal and tend to frown upon visitors who are disrespectful to their customs. Lucerne locals are very sports-oriented, what with a huge lake and tall mountains on their doorstep, while culturally, the Lucerne International Festival of Music and the city's museums will please any culture vulture.