About Lucerne

Here are a few charming “useless” facts about Lucerne:

• The Chapel Bridge is not only one of the oldest covered wooden bridges in Europe, but was originally built at an angle – deliberately, to accommodate the course of the river.

• The water tower next to the bridge has served as a prison, treasury, city archive, and even a torture chamber over the centuries.

• There is a “secret” joke about the Lion Monument: Mark Twain called it “the saddest and most moving piece of stone in the world” – a title that still appeals to tourist guides today.

• The Musegg Wall has nine towers, each with its own name. One of them, the Zytturm, has a clock that traditionally strikes one minute before the official time.

• Lucerne has an “upside-down” cinema: the Bourbaki Panorama offers a 360-degree view – and has done so since 1889, long before cinema became standard.