Lucerne - Old Town

Lucerne's Regierungsgebäude (Government Building) adjoining the Jesuit church was formerly a Jesuit college, the core of which is the Ritter palace, a Renaissance mansion (1557-64) built by Lukas Ritter, a local dignitary who had grown rich in foreign service. In the handsome arcaded courtyard can be seen the original of the Weinmarkt fountain. To the rear of the building is the Neo-classical Chamber of the Great Council (1841-43). Close by are the Cantonal Archives.

Above Nationalquai, on the site of the old monastery of St Leodegar, is the twin-towered Hofkirche (R.C.), which was rebuilt in 1634-39 but preserved the towers (1525) of the previous church. On the north tower a Late Gothic sculpture depicts the Agony in the Garden. The church has a carved pulpit and choir-stalls of 1639 and a famous organ (recitals in summer). In the picturesque arcades which surround the church are the tombs of members of old Lucerne families.

In the part of Lucerne's old town that extends west from the station along the left bank of the Reuss are the Municipal Theater and the Jesuit church, a Baroque building (1666-77) with an elegant Roccoco interior (1750).

Along the north side of Lucerne's old town runs the Museggmauer, a wall built between 1350 and 1408, with nine towers built in differing styles.

Along the north shore of Lake Lucerne, to the east of Schwanenplatz, extends a series of broad tree-lined quays lined with shops and hotels - Schweizerhofquai, Nationalquai and Spittelerquai - from where there is a magnificent panorama of the Alps. To the left is the Rigi group, in the middle the Bürgenstock, to the right the Stanserhorn and Pilatus, and beyond, in the distance, the Glarus and Engelberg Alps.

In Nationalquai are the Kurplatz and the Kursaal (restaurant).

This annual day-long festival takes place in late June.

In Lucerne's Kornmarkt is the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus, 1602-06), in Italian Renaissance style but with a very typical Swiss hipped roof. The adjoining tower dates from the 14th C. and is by P. A. Isenmann.

200 photos of Picasso by photographer David Douglas Duncan plus Picasso ceramics and metal sculptures are housed in the Am Rhyn-Haus.

In the Kapellplatz is the oldest church in Lucerne, St Peter's chapel (1178), which received its present form in the 18th C.

To the west of Lucerne's Kornmarkt is the picturesque Weinmarkt; the Late Gothic fountain (1481) by K. Lux is a copy (original in the courtyard of the Regierungsgebäude).