Friday, April 13, 2012

Luzern in the Golden Hour

Kapellbrücke / Chapel Bridge over the Reuss River : Luzern, CH

This weekend, we traveled to Luzern to meet up with a friend I haven't seen in 20+ years. Alan P. has been stationed at the U.S. Army Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany, for the last couple of years. His assignment is ending and he's about to ship back to the States. We decided it would be fun to meet up somewhere in the middle between Geneva and Kaiserslautern, so we chose Luzern. (Actually, it turned out to be way closer for us than it was for him, but he was kind enough to drive further than we did.) We drove up to Luzern the night before and met friends Scott and Diana. These are just a couple of shots from that evening.

Luzern's most famous landmark is its wooden bridge -- the Kapellbrücke, or Chapel Bridge -- that connects the two halves of Luzern across the Reuss River. Built in 1333, it is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. In 1993, a fire, allegedly started by a discarded cigarette, destroyed a significant section of the bridge, which had to be rebuilt. As a result of the fire, a series of 17th century paintings depicting events from Luzern's history were lost. A few remain. In the distance at the end of the bridge, you can see the Church of St. Leodegar.


Stadtkeller : Luzern, CH

On the north side of the Reuss, there are a number of older buildings that include beautifully painted façades and woodworking details.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/2012

No comments: