Lucerne: plots as symphonies
Festival city above all
Lucerne is known for festivals. But not one of those in which young people get smeared listening to and idolizing sad, ephemeral and noisy heroes. No way, what is popular here is classical music , which makes it impossible to book a room for miles around every August. The classical music festival transforms the city into a display of money and a lot of quality. But not everything is going to be classic and classy (seeing the price of your tickets). In parallel, the city claims and opens itself to other experiences . Little by little, the Blueballs, a meeting of 'other music' occupies spaces reserved for posh to be filled with new trends (pleasantly sponsored). Lastly, the Old Town Festival takes over the streets and squares of its convoluted center to altruistically welcome summer, since all profits go to charity.
The first luxury hotels: the National and the Palace
About 150 years ago, tourism as we understand it today was invented. The English were largely to blame for this, seeking mountains and thermal centers to come to the Alps to leave the benefits of their factories and colonial businesses. And with them they brought their own comforts, demands and even Anglican church (the temple of San Marcos was built for this cult), making Lucerne one of the first enclaves taken over by these new customs and making Switzerland build its reputation for good hospitality since then. The first luxury hotels were built on the north shore of the Four Cantons Lake with the centenarians National Hotel Y Palace Luzern , pioneers in luxury that cry out to be visited with parsimony and stealth. In the first of them, the mythical César Ritz was acting as Mâitre and learning the tricks of the trade. Of course, it was not bad after.
Bourbaki Panorama
For the usual rainy days What's better than going to the movies? But of course, by the year 1900 the Lumiere brothers had not yet commercialized the cinematograph on a large scale, so the closest thing then were panoramas, large circular paintings that tell a story (usually war) and that make viewers take a wide back to continue his story. In the Bourbaki Panorama, an episode of the Franco-Prussian War is narrated. But beyond the detail of the dead is the building itself, an architectural challenge for the time that even today now draws attention.
Wood bridges
Lucerne's best-known image is that of the wooden bridges that cross the reuss river from end to end, even from corner to corner, tracing impractical lines that make them even more beautiful. The best known of them is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe , called chapel bridge . It is thus known for having a tower in the middle of its 200-meter route that was once used as a prison, as a small hermitage, and which is now used to organize parties. In addition to serving as a walkway, it is also a museum of the city's history , since small pictures hang from its ceiling that narrate the most important events. In spring and summer, the flowers on its sides burst into pinkish colors, further sweetening its medieval beauty.
The wooden bridges that cross the river Reuss
The Hotel: Nouvel and cinema
**Jean Nouvel and Lucerna seem to have been married 20 years ago**, since Nouvel has practically been the leading architect of the city in recent years. One of his most entertaining works (because, let's face it, he's a bit of a boring designer) was when he refurbished the interior of the The Hotel , filling him with subjectivism by undressing his tastes and drawing inspiration from his favorite movies. The rooms are dark, as they could not be less, but on their ceilings there are references to directors such as Buñuel, Greenaway, Almodóvar or Fellini. and to his most emblematic works.
KKL, the auditorium with the best acoustics in the world
Nouvel's great work in this city is the KKL . The impressive auditorium is at the junction of the lake with the historic center, in a privileged enclave which has made him become the great icon of today's Lucerne. Aesthetically it can generate controversy, since it is very dark, with an exaggerated ceiling, a trademark of the house, and with very rigid shapes. But inside his concert hall is wonderful . The first for its lively appearance, dyed in a range of wood and white colors that hypnotize from the first moment, especially because it is a real surprise if you look at what precedes it on the outside. The second, for its unique acoustics, based on panels that are adjusted for each work so that all attendees can enjoy every note and every silence. On the terrace, you get magnificent views of the lake shore , yes, always under the obsession of its architect to limit the gaze, to frame the panoramic views, robbing the visitor of the blue color of the sky.
KKL: the best acoustics in the world
The saddest piece of stone
At this point few Swiss are going to be offended if they are branded as mercenaries. His famous Swiss Guard was always sold to the highest bidder, although sometimes they were betrayed. This was the case during the French Revolution, when Louis XVI deceived them by leading them to certain death, which in the end also meant their end. In honor of the fallen, one of the most beautiful monuments in the world was sculpted . In a tiny park in the heart of the city, in a vertical section of the mountain, rests the figure of a wounded lion dying of enormous proportions (7 meters high by 10 long). The sculpture was outlined in Rome by the Danish master Thornvaldsen, although the model was broken while crossing the lake in the middle of a storm, for which the value of Lucas Ahorn, the craftsman in charge of transferring the design to stone, is recognized. Mark Twain, while visiting the city, when seeing this tribute to the fallen, recognized that it was "the saddest piece of stone in the world".
Wagner's house
The head of the marriage between classical music and Lucerne was Richard Wagner . The Teutonic composer lived for years on the shores of the lake, in a grandiose mansion where he composed and from where he left to make his walks through the Alps, looking for the native Tyrolean timbres that he would later use in his operas. In memory of him, In 1939, the conductor Toscanini organized the first edition of the famous classical music festival in the gardens of the old mansion. But beyond the mythomania, it remains to visit the museum that today occupies its rooms and discover the many anecdotes that its walls keep, many of them starring a young Nietzsche who spent his summers sharing Wagner's ideas on politics, philosophy, and ancient German history. It was on the second floor of the house that they discovered their differences regarding the existence of a God and the need for religion, which separated them for life.
The views from the lake
Lucerna gradually moves away with the slow rattle of the engines. It is the feeling that you have climbed on one of the small cruises that offer juicy voyages through the waters of the lake of the Four Cantons. In addition to obtaining the best image of the entire city, the promenade serves to stealthily approach the houses of the famous, and it is that numerous large houses of businessmen and some other celebrity such as Tina Turner. The only thing that is missing is the charlatan on duty explaining some gossip that gives more chicha to a comforting journey.
The best picture in the whole city
japanese boyfriends
Let's see, there are Japanese everywhere, that's vox populi. But, Japanese wedding dresses? You are right, in Lucerne it is very easy to meet very recently married couples making the handy photo album for the most emblematic corners. The reason is as follows: by local government agreement, the marriages united here are valid in the land of the rising sun. This gap is used by many couples who, to avoid the hassle of putting up with bosses, brothers-in-law, neighbors and other social commitments, organize the celebration 10,000 kilometers away. Thus, they prevent the budget from getting out of hand and the freeloaders refrain from attending. In the end, they give a kitsch and curious touch to the city that is not bad at all.