It's Christmas time...

Now, the season of the Christmas markets has started. In every city you can find one. The Christmas market in Zurichs railway station has beside stands with gift ideas and delicious culinary delights another highlight: the famous 15-meter-high Swarovski Christmas Tree.

With his unique, sparkling ornaments it is every year a special highlight.

Lucerne

Lugano

 Quelle: www.lugano-tourism.com

Lugano is a city in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speakting canton Ticino, which borders Italy. The city lies on Lake Lugano, and its warm summers and the fact that in recent years it attracted an ever growing number of celebrities, entertainers and successful athletes have given it the nickname of the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland". 

For some impressions

Glasi Hergiswil - glass factory

Hergiswiler Glas AG has been handcrafting fine glassware since 1817 in its glass factory on the shores of Lake Lucerne, surrounded by the idyllic Swiss Alps. 

When visiting the "Glasi" you can see the Glasi Museum, the "Phenomenon Glass" exhibition, where visitors can play ond glass instruments and observe optical phenomena and learn all about the latest applications that this ancient material lends itself to. You can walk through the glass-labyrinth and you can also watch how the glass-blowers are working. There is also the possibility that you can blow your own glass ball.

After the tour you can buy directly there in the store the items in glass.

Quelle Bilder: www.glasi.ch

اليوم 10أكتوبر يوم هام بسويسرا سيتم تدشين أكبر نفق في العالم !سمه سان جوثار طوله 57 كيلومتر ويربط بين وسط سويسرا حتى جنوب سويسرا وهيا المنطقة التى تتكلم اللغة الاطالية

Le tunnel Saint-Gottard record Du Monde

Le 15 octobre est un jour de joie pour la Suisse et l'Europe, le plus long tunnel du monde avec 57km de Long,

Longueur du tunnel de base du Saint-Gothard, du portail Nord à Erstfeld au

portail Sud du tessin à Bodio (de centre de la suisse jusqu'au sud   )
les plus longs tunnelles du monde
Tunnel de base de Gothard  suisse 57km
Tunnel de seikan  japon  53.9k
Tunnel sous la manche G-P- France 55.5km
Tunnel de la base du loetschberg 34.6km

Mount Pilatus

                                                                                     Quelle Foto: switzerland-tours.ch

Pilatus is a mountain near Lucerne. From the top you have a great view over the Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee).

The top can be reached with the Pilatus Railway, the world's steepest cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad (operating from May to November, depending on the snow conditions). The whole year you can reach it by the aerial panorama gondolas and aerlial cableways from Kriens. During the summer, the "Golden Round Trip", which is a popular route for tourists, involves taking a boat from Lucerne acros Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, going up on the cogwheel railway, coming down on the aerial cableways and panorama gondolas, and taking the bus back to Lucerne. 

There is also the longest summer toboggan track in Switzerland and the biggest suspension rope park in Central Switzerland.

There are a lot of legends about Mount Pilatus. For example it's said, that Pilatus was named after Pontius Pilatus, because the legend alleges that he was burried there. An other legend tells that a dragon was living on the mountain...

                                                                                                         Quelle Foto: vch.ch

 

Pilatus in March                                                     Quelle Foto: wikipedia.org

Rose d'Or - Global Television Festival - 18 - 22 September 2010

 

The Rose d'Or, held anually in Lucerne, is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. With more than 40 countries participating, the festival is the most important networking platform for the onscreen entertainment community, and attracts leading figures from the global industry.


Former winners of the Rose d'Or are big names like - Barbara Streisand, the Muppet Show, Liza Minelli, Benny Hill, Monty Python, Cirque du Soleil, The Simpsons, Mr. Bean, Nigel Kennedy, Shirley Maclaine, ...

This year the Festival celebrates its Golden Jubilee - the 50th anniversary.


The official website of the Rose d'Or

Quelle Foto: www.sbb.ch

Lion Monument in Lucerne

 

The Lion Monument (in German "Löwendenkmal"), also known as the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen took the initiative to create the monument. He was an officer of the Guard who had been on leave in Lucerne at that time of the fight. 

The monument is dedicated to the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss (Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti). The dying lion is portrayed impaled by a spear, covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy, beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland. The inscription below the sculpture lists the names of the officers, and approximate numbers of the soldiers who died (DCCLX = 760), and survived (CCCL = 350).

More informations you can find here.

Kapellbrücke in Lucerne

Quelle: de.academic.ru

The "Kapellbrücke" (Chapel Bridge in German) is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and one of the most visited tourist attractions in Switzerland. It crosses the River Reuss in the City of Lucerne.

The bridge was constructed in 1333 and was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge there are paintings from the 17th century illustrating Lucerne's history. Much of the bridge and the majority of these paintings were destroyed in a fire in 1993. It was rebuilt but some of the blackened structure of the bridge still remains.

The "Wasserturm" (Water Tower in German) is adjoining the bridge. It is an octagonal tower made from brick and served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury. Today the tower is used as the guild hall of the artillery association. The tower and the bridge are Lucerne's trademark.