Lion Monument
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The Lion Monument is a rock relief carved into a sandstone cliff beside a pond in a small park near Löwenplatz, Lucerne.
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Why go
- Remember the Swiss Guards killed when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792.
- Read the inscription with approximate totals of 760 dead and 350 survivors.
Opening hours
Today00:00 – 23:59Show all
Monday00:00 – 23:59
Tuesday00:00 – 23:59
Wednesday00:00 – 23:59
Thursday00:00 – 23:59
Friday00:00 – 23:59
Saturday00:00 – 23:59
Sunday00:00 – 23:59
Don't miss
- Memorial chapelSpot the memorial chapel designed and built by Louis Pfyffer von Wyher.Beside the park entrance
- Officers’ inscriptionRead the names of 26 fallen officers and 16 officers who survived or were rescued.Below the lion
- Snake-head fountainFind the drinking fountain with a snake-head-shaped spout, dating from 1945.
Interesting facts4
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The relief measures ten metres long and six metres high.
Lion Monument - Wikipedia -
The pond also serves as a wishing well and is drained twice a year for cleaning.
Löwendenkmal Luzern - Wikipedia -
The lion was carved directly into the rock rather than cast in bronze and placed before it.
Löwendenkmal Luzern - Wikipedia -
The niche is ten metres high.
Lion Monument - Wikipedia
Shorts
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Why you should visit the Lion Monument in Lucerne! | Switzerland Hist…Switzerland Insider
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Amazing Lion Monument In Lucerne, Switzerland 2026 HDTouronama
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The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), or the Lion of LucerneUntold Road
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🦁Discovering Lucerne's Lion Monument: A Tribute to History and HeroismLuLu traveling the world!
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Löwendenkmal (Dying Lion Monument)Luxury Travel Advisor
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Visiting the lion monument Lucerne by walking through the Lucerne str…Sreesuthan Pp
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Boots and Bucketlists Short: The Lion MonumentBoots and Bucketlists
History
The sculpture’s sandstone makes conservation difficult.
- 1818Guard officer Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen began raising funds to honour his comrades, mainly from European royal houses. Vincenz Rüttiman asked Bertel Thorvaldsen to accept the commission, and he agreed.
- 1820–21Thorvaldsen designed the relief. Urs Pankraz Eggenschwiler began carving it, and Lukas Ahorn completed it in 1821.
- 1872A forepaw broke off and was repaired by the Odermatt sculptors of Stans.
- 1899–1901Workers dug an isolation tunnel about 30 metres long into the rock behind the monument to reduce decay.
- 1940sThe monument became a rallying point for far-right movements.
Show all
- 1978The city added measures to stabilise the rock.
- 1982The inscription was re-engraved.
Tips for your visit
- Address: Denkmalstrasse 4, Lucerne.
On the same route
Sources: Lion Monument - Wikipedia · Lucerne - Wikivoyage (see) · Löwendenkmal Luzern - Wikipedia · Lion de Lucerne - Wikipedia · Leone di Lucerna - Wikipedia · checked 24 Sep 2026
Where
Denkmalstrasse 4, 6002
- Website
- loewendenkmal-luzern.ch/
- Phone
- +41 41 227 17 17
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Questions and answers
Does the Lion Monument have another name?
Yes. It is also known as the Lion of Lucerne.
How did visitors once get close to the monument?
Visitors once reached it by gondola to view the lion more closely.
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