Lucerne

Capital and tourist centre of Lucerne canton, Switzerland, 45 km/28 mi southwest of Zürich, on the River Reuss where it flows out of Lake Lucerne; population (1994) city 61,700; canton 337,700. Manufactured goods include chemicals, metal products, and textiles. The city developed around a Benedictine monastery established in about 750, and owes its prosperity to its position on the St Gotthard road and railway.

Mount Pilatus reaches 2,123 m/6,965 ft to the south, and Mount Rigi rises to 1,800 m/5,908 ft to the east. The Dying Lion (1821, also known as the Lion of Lucerne), a rock sculpture carved by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, commemorates the Swiss Guards who fell in Paris in 1792, while defending the Tuileries Palace in the French Revolution. Other features include St Leodegar's Cathedral; the Glacier Garden; the old town hall; and the Swiss Transport Museum. The Reuss is crossed by seven bridges; the most distinctive being the Kapellbrucke, built in 1333 with a 17th-century panelled roof.

lucerne

Another name for the plant alfalfa.

Lucerne

Canton in central Switzerland, in the northern foothills of the Alps; area 1,494 sq km/577 sq mi; population (1999 est) 345,400. The city of Lucerne is the capital of the canton, which mainly comprises fertile pasture land yielding grain, flax, clover, potatoes, and dairy products. A wide range of products are also manufactured.

Lucerne became part of the Helvetic Republic after the French conquered it in 1798, but was reinstated as an independent canton in 1803 by Napoleon's Act of Mediation. The canton is mainly German-speaking.