Page 115 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER SPRING 2022

Today, it still has amazing grace and for many tunately, on a dry summer evening in August 1993,
travellers Lucerne with its crystal clear lake, snow- someone carelessly threw a glimmering cigarette
capped mountains and well-preserved medieval butt away and all but the two bridgeheads burnt
Altstadt (Old Town) is the embodiment of Switzer- down”, said the city guide Rebecca Gisler. Also de-
land. stroyed were 110 of the 17th-century paintings
The fascination with charming Lucerne is cen- which adorned the bridge with two-thirds either
turies old. The English painter William Turner going up in smoke or suffering severe damage.
made it famous with a series of water colors in the Next to Chapel Bridge stands the second land-
1830s and 1840s, and in 1863, nearby Rigi moun- mark of Lucerne, the octagonal water tower which
tain was the highlight of the world’s first overseas used to be part of the city’s fortifications but was
package holiday. Organized by Thomas Cook, a subsequently used as an archive, treasury, prison
group tour to Switzerland included ascending the and torture chamber. The ancient Musegg Wall
summit to watch the sunrise. has nine towers out of which four are open to the
Lucerne got a further boost in popularity when public. The clock on the Zyt Tower is the town’s
Queen Victoria, still mourning the loss of her hus- oldest and chimes the hours one minute before all
band, Prince Albert, and a small entourage headed the others, perhaps perfectly fitting for a nation
to central Switzerland for a five-week getaway in that hates to be late.
1868. The Alps provided the grieving monarch There are thousands if not tens of thousands of
with healthy mountain air, while classic sight-see- timepieces ticking in Lucerne which makes it, to-
ing tours, painting, and horse riding, refreshed her gether with Paris and Shanghai, a leading watch
soul. Within two years of her stay, a Hotel Victoria trading center. Many Chinese nationals (after
had opened in Lucerne, there was a steamer bear- Swiss and US-American travellers the third big-
ing her name and today there are more than 20 gest visitor group in Lucerne) travel to the town
Victoria hotels in Switzerland. with the aim of purchasing a genuine Swiss watch.
Then as now, Lucerne’s major drawcard is the The main shopping street, Hertensteinstrasse, is
wooden Chapel Bridge, constructed in the first lined with high-end retail stores and Bucherer has,
half of the 14th century. However, unlike Queen allegedly, the world’s largest selection of Rolex
Victoria who could still enjoy the original, today’s watches. “Lucerne is China’s #1 destination in
visitors cross the Reuss River on a replica. “Unfor- Switzerland. They just love the cultural diversity,

Opposite, top: Chapel Bridge and Water Tower
copyright Lucerne Tourism
Opposite left: Jesuit Church ceiling detail
copyright Wibke Carter
Left: Lion Monument copyright Lucerne Tourism

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