Lucerne (Luzern in German) may be Switzerland's most popular tourist destination. It's an essential stop on European bus tours that spend a day or two in Switzerland, and no wonder: the scenery is breathtaking, the town is dotted with medieval structures, shopping opportunities abound, mountain and lake excursions are nearby, and attractions like the Verkehrshaus (Swiss Transportation Museum) make Lucerne a magnet for Swiss daytrippers and foreign visitors.
It would be easy to dismiss Lucerne as a tourist trap, but that would be a mistake. The things that make the city popular also make it worth visiting--even if you're an independent traveler who eschews the beaten path.
There are several football (soccer) clubs throughout the city. The most successful one is FC Luzern of the Swiss Super League, coached by former Swiss international footballer Ciriaco Sforza. The club plays its home matches at Allmend stadium, an outdated 13.000-capacity field in the south of the city. There are plans for a modern football arena combined with an indoor swimming pool and public sports facilities. The complex is not expected to be ready before 2009.
In the past, Lucerne also produced national successes in men's handball and women's volleyball.
Every year, towards the end of winter, Carnival (Fasnacht) breaks out in the streets, alleyways and squares of the old town. This is a glittering outdoor party, where chaos and merriness reign and nothing is as it normally is. Strange characters in fantastic masks and costumes make their way through the alleyways, while carnival bands (Guggenmusigen) blow their instruments in joyful cacophony and thousands of bizarrely clad people sing and dance away the winter. Lucerne Carnival starts every year on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday with a big bang. There are big parades on Dirty Thursday and the following Monday, called Fat Monday, which attracts tens of thousands of people. Lucerne's Carnival ends with a crowning finish on Fat Tuesday evening with a tremendous parade of big bands, lights and lanterns. After the parade all the bands wander through the city playing their hearts out and shaking the old buildings down to their foundations.
With the magnification you want more weight at the national level. In addition to bureaucratic barriers and planning in Greater Lucerne easier.
Further mergers with Ebikon, Horw, Kriens and Emmen are under discussion.
In the wake of train 2000 was planned that Lucerne an (underground) station to receive passage. This proposal was rejected (see Rail 2000 - 2nd stage).
After the fall of the Roman Empire beginning in the 6th century, Germanic Alemannic peoples increased their influence on this area of present day Switzerland.
Around 750 the Benedictine Monastery of St. Leodegar was founded, which was later acquired by Murbach Abbey in Alsace in the middle of the 9th century, and by this time the area had become known as Luceria. In 1178 Lucerne acquired its independence from the jurisdiction of Murbach Abbey, and the founding of the city proper probably occurred this same year. The city gained importance as a strategically located gateway for the growing commerce from Gotthard trade route.
By 1290 Lucerne became a good-sized, self-sufficient city with about 3000 inhabitants. About this time King Rudolph I von Habsburg gained authority over the Monastery of St. Leodegar and its lands, including Lucerne. The populace did not appreciate the increasing Habsburg influence, and Lucerne allied with neighboring towns to seek independence from Habsburg rule. Along with Lucerne, the three other forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the "eternal" Swiss Confederacy, known as the Eidgenossenschaft, on November 7, 1332. Later the cities Zurich, Zug and Berne joined the alliance. With the help of these additions, the rule of Austria over the area was ended. The issue was settled through Lucerne’s victory over the Habsburgs in the Battle of Sempach in 1386. For Lucerne this victory ignited an era of expansion. The city shortly granted many rights to itself, rights which had been withheld by the Habsburgs so far. By this time the borders of Lucerne approximately matched those of today.
In 1415 Lucerne gained Reichsfreiheit from Emperor Sigismund and became a strong member of the Swiss confederacy. The city developed its infrastructure, raised taxes, and appointed its own local officials. The city’s population of 3000 dropped about 40% due to the Black Plague around 1350 and several wars.
In 1419 town records show the first witch trial against a male person.
Lucerne is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and seat of the district with the same name. With a population of 57,890[1], Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland and focal point of the region. The city's agglomeration consists of 17 municipalities in three cantons with an overall population of nearly 200,000[2].
Due to its location on the shore of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne is traditionally considered first and foremost as a tourist destination. One of the city's famous landmarks is Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first built in the 14th Century.
