Zug Attractions

By way of the fish market we reach the Zug old town with its attractive burghers' houses and fountains. Several buildings are noteworthy: the Baroque gabled building of the municipal planning office (18th C.), the 16th-17th C. mint and the nearby Roccoco Glorietti Pavilion, and the 16th C. Brandenberg House which has a Roccoco facade.

Masks and fetishes of Central Africa plus musical instruments and ivory and ebony carvings.

The former 15th C. Corn Exchange has been converted into a museum of art which mounts temporary exhibitions, specializing in 19th and 20th C. art of Zug and the heartland of Switzerland. Four watchtowers and remains of the walls of the old town fortifications can still be seen.

At the southern end of Lake Zug lies Arth (420 m/1,451ft; pop. 3,000), a little town which has grown up around an important road junction. It has a Baroque church dating from the late 17th C. The station of Arth-Goldau is the starting point of a rack railroad up the Rigi.

3km/2mi north of Zug is the little industrial town (textiles) of Baar (447 m/1,467ft). In the main street are the fine parish church of St Martin (14th C., rebuilt in 1771) with a massive Romanesque tower with a Baroque helm roof, and the Town Hall (1676). In the cemetery stands a Late Gothic chapel (1507). An attractive excursion (7km/4mi southeast) can be made over a hill covered with fruit-trees and the deep Lorzentobel gorge to the Höllgrotten ("Caves of Hell") with magnificent stalactitic formations.

Those interested in bee-keeping should pay a visit to the Hotel Rosenberg, where the collection of the German-Swiss Bee-keeping Association is on display. The collection covers bee-keeping, the life and anatomy of bees and the production of beeswax.

A Neolithic archaeological find and agricultural articles are available for viewing.

Near St Oswald's Church (Kirchgasse 11) the so-called "Burg" (13th C. castle), once the official headquarters of the Kyburg and Habsburg governors, houses the historical and cultural museum of the town and the canton. The collection includes items of pre- and early history, stained glass, clocks, weapons, uniforms and implements used in agriculture and crafts.

5km/3mi west of Zug on the Lucerne road (No. 4) we come to Cham (421 m/1,381ft; pop. 6,500), at the junction of several roads. The church, built in 1786, has a slender steeple added in 1853. By the lake is the Schloss St Andreas, with a chapel of 1488 built on Carolingian foundations. The smart Villa Villette has, since 1988, been a meeting place and cultural center.

A working brick factory that includes a study collection of 6000 exhibits.

The Fishery Museum houses a small collection of fish and birds which inhabit Lake Zug,

From the Zug town hall a gateway under the picturesque Zytturm ("Time Tower", about 1200, with an astronomical clock) into the Kolinplatz where there is a fountain bearing the figure of the standard- bearer Wolfgang Kalin, who fell at the Battle of Arbedo against the Milanese.

Northeast of the Kolinplatz on a hill stands the Capuchin friary (1595-97) with a church dating from 1676.

The Lake Zug Shipping company provides both breakfast trips (Schiffs-Zmorge) and an interesting evening circular program from May to November; on Wednesdays and Fridays (at 8 p.m from Zug): Chinese Fondue, Risotto and Spaghetti Plausch, summer nights buffet, dance trips, raclette and fondue parties and the Lake Zug Metzgete.

From the lakeside promenade in Zug, there is a fine view of the Rigi, Pilatus and the Bernese Alps (Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau). The Landsgermeindeplatz (citizens' assembly area), near the Stadt landing-place, was laid out to a new plan at the beginning of the 1980s; there are cafes and restaurants where visitors can relax.

This annual day-long festival takes place in late June and includes a fireworks display.

The Cantonal Museum of Pre-history contains finds from the canton of Zug, dating from the Mesolithic era to the early Middle Ages. Among the exhibits are objects excavated from a Neolithic lakeside settlement and from the Roman estate of Cham-Hagendorn.

To the south of Kolinplatz in Zug stands the Late-Gothic St Oswald's church (1478-1545) a three-aisled basilica; the main doorway ("King's Portal") is decorated with beautiful sculptures depicting St Oswald and St Michael on either side of the Virgin Mary.

Surrounding sights of Zug include: Lake Zug, Zugerberg, Cham and Baar. There is also an interesting driving tour from Zug to Ägerisee.

The Late Gothic Rathaus (town hall) of Zug was completed in 1505; in a council room on the top floor fine carvings of 1507 have been preserved. Also of interest are the Renaissance doorway and the paneling in the Small Council Chamber.

The area's archaeological finds, from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages are exhibited in this award-winning museum. Also included is a children's gallery.

The distance to Oberägen is 13km/8mi, to Schwyz 29km/18mi, 4km/2mi more than by the main road via Arth.

Leave Zug on a secondary road which runs east to Thalacker and crosses the Lorze gorge on a high bridge. In 5km/3mi we reach Nidfurren (654 m/2,146ft). The road continues along the east side of the Lorze valley. 5km/3mi: Unterägeri (729 m/2,393ft), a busy little village and holiday spot at the north end of the charming Ägerisee (725 m/2,379ft; 5.5km/3mi long). The road runs along the northeast side of the lake.

To the southeast of Zug is the Zugerberg (988 m/3,242ft), with pleasant woodland walks and views of the Alps, particularly from the Hochwacht. It can be reached either by the direct road up the hill (9km/6mi) or by driving via Guggithal to Schönegg (3km/2mi) and taking the funicular (2km/1mi, eight minutes). On the top stands the Zugerberg Hotel.