Switzerland Guide
Luzern
The Old Town
The Old Town's most atmospheric cluster of medieval houses is located along the north bank of the Reuss, with Mühlenplatz, Weinmarkt, Hirschenplatz and Kornmarkt forming a compact ensemble of cobbled, fountained squares ringed by colourful facades.
Kapellplatz, at the bridgehead of the Kapellbrücke, encircles the tiny eighteenth-century St-Peterskapelle, built over a predecessor dating from as early as 1178. Some 150m west is Kornmarkt, site of the medieval public marketplace. On one side, overlooking the riverside market area of Unter der Egg, is the huge Rathaus, completed in 1606 in Italian Renaissance style but crowned with an incongruous Emmentaler-style roof. The market atmosphere survives today, with vegetable, fish and flower stalls doing a roaring trade every Tuesday and Saturday morning. Kornmarktgasse runs west to the atmospheric frescoed Weinmarkt, where Passion Plays were staged in the late Middle Ages.
The Old Town extends to the south bank of the Reuss, comprising a triangular area known as the Kleinstadt, originally walled. Facing Unter der Egg is the huge Jesuitenkirche, dominating the riverside with its twin onion-domed towers. Completed in 1673, its astonishing interior is a frothy Rococo concoction of gilt stucco and marble. Among the profusion of frescoes is one on the ceiling that, intriguingly, depicts the church exterior as it was 300 years ago. A few steps west is the Rittersche palace, built in 1557 in Florentine Renaissance style as a private mansion but now the seat of Luzern's cantonal government. Behind it to the south is the Franziskanerkirche, the oldest building in Luzern, dating from 1270 (though much restored). It's unusually richly decorated for a Franciscan church, with Renaissance choir stalls and battle standards lining the walls – copies of those looted from battlefields through the centuries. A Baroque side-chapel is decorated with Italianate stucco and a host of kitschy, curly-haired angels. Continuing west, peaceful Pfistergasse curves to meet the south side of the Spreuerbrücke, where you'll spot the stout, sixteenth-century town arsenal, now home to the Historisches Museum (Tues– Sun 10am–5pm; Fr.10; SMP; 
www.hmluzern.ch ), filled with arms and armour, restored interiors, costumes and crafts telling the history of Luzern.
Opening time: Daily
Price: Free