The Lion Monument, Löwendenkmal, or the Lion of Lucerne, is a rock relief sculpture of a wounded lion in Lucerne. It memorializes the Swiss Guards massacred during the French Revolution in 1792. It is almost 33 feet long and 20 feet high. Second Lieutenant Carl Pfyffer von Altishofen, an officer of the Swiss Guards, was home in Lucerne when the Tuileries Palace in Paris was stormed. When the revolution was over he felt a memorial was appropriate to honour the friends who died. The Swiss Guards were known for being loyal to their employers, and their comrades. Politicians weren’t happy about the memorial because the Swiss Guard was an army for hire, but it was sculpted into the limestone wall of rock anyway. It has become a major tourist attraction since it was finished in 1821.
One of its most famous visitors, Mark Twain, called the sculpture "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."
From the main train station take a northbound bus number 1 (Maihof), 19 (Kantonsspital/Friedental), 22 (Perlen/Inwil) until the stop "Löwenplatz" [Lion Square].
From Löwenplatz turn to the right for a few steps and then left again, follow either Löwengartenstrasse or Denkmalstrasse leading you north to the Alpineum.
From there it's only a few more steps to the entrance to the English Garden with the Lion Monument and the Glacier Garden.
The cheapest way to get from Luzern station to Lion Monument is via taxi which costs CHF 13 - CHF 17 and takes 3minutes.
Sunday: Open 24 hours.
Monday: Open 24 hours.
Tuesday: Open 24 hours.
Wednesday: Open 24 hours.
Thursday: Open 24 hours.
Friday: Open 24 hours.
Saturday: Open 24 hours.
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