Page 118 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER SPRING 2022

the world. An animal one would not expect to find legend of the local mountain. From time immemo-
in this part of the world, the story behind the titu- rial, people believed that a dragon with healing
lar rock carving is a tragic one. On August 10, powers and spirits inhabited the rugged cliffs high
1792, some 1,000 Swiss Guards in Paris, seeking above Lucerne. It was also said that the ancient
to protect the life of King Louis XVI from the revo- Lake Pilatus harbored the restless soul of Roman
lutionaries, paid the ultimate price for their un- Prefect Pontius Pilate. Because of these myths as-
conditional loyalty. cents to Mount Pilatus were forbidden for a very
Officer Karl Pfyffer, who was on leave at his long time. Cursed be they, it was thought, who dis-
home in Lucerne that fateful day, never forgot the turb the forces on the mountain.
loss of his comrades-in-arms. He raised funds for Today, there are two convenient ways to reach
the powerful memorial, once called by Mark Twain the top of Pilatus. The first, and more spectacular
“the most mournful and moving piece of stone in (May to November), is traveling by train or boat
the world”, which pays homage to the selfless he- from Lucerne to Alpnachstad and then taking the
roes of the Swiss Guard. world’s steepest cogwheel railway. When engineer
Less historical fact and more local fiction is the Eduard Locher proposed building a railway on

118 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER/SPRING 2022