Luzern, Switzerland

Luzern is one of the major cities in central Switzerland, which is approximately one hour southwest of Zurich by train. I decided to take a day trip to the area to visit a couple of sights including the Swiss Transportation Museum, Glacier Garden and Lion Monument. These pictures are from the downtown area.

I took the train from Engelberg and arrived in the early morning. Luzern is not a large city, and it's very easy to get around by walking. Most areas are within 10-15 minutes walking distance. There are a lot of ferry trips on Lake Luzern that are available, and also some guided tours of the city through the tourist office. The weather was mostly cloudy, with some light rain off and on all day. Otherwise, it was fine.

This is the famous Water Tower, dating back to the 13th century, which is considered to be the symbol of Luzern. The octagonal shaped tower was previously used as a stronghold. The Chapel Bridge you see here dates back from 1333, and crosses the Reuss River. It was destroyed by fire in 1993, and was rebuilt.

The trusses inside the Chapel Bridge display artwork from medieval times. Virtually all of the original paintings were destroyed in the fire, but the remaining ones were reconstructed. This is a sample of one of the pictures. There are over 150 of these pictures in the bridge to look at, and each one is numbered.

This is the Jesuit Church, which is one of a large number of Catholic churches in the area.

This is the clock tower on the old town hall, which is also home to the Pablo Picasso Museum. As expected, it chimes every hour.

The Musegg Wall was a fortification that was build on the north side of Luzern. It has a series of gothic towers, and each was given a different name. This one is called Nölliturm, the westernmost tower on the wall, which is located on the Reuss River.

Going to the east, this is the Männliturm tower.

From left to right, these are the Luegisland and Wachtturm towers.