One of the interesting sights in Lucerne other than the Alstadt (old city) is this very well preserved museggmauer (musegg wall) and it’s nine towers. It’s quite an uphill climb with lots of tiny steps in the towers but the view at the top is really beautiful and refreshing.
The Museggmauer, constructed between 1370 and 1442, is part of the historic town fortifications that once boasted 30 towers. Today, the remaining wall measures 870 metres, is an average of 9 metres high, 1.5 metres thick and has nine towers. The outside of the towers and the walls are made of stone but inside it’s all wood.
The nine towers are as follows (in order) – Nolliturm, Mannliturm, Lugislandturm, Wachturm, Zeitturm, Schirmerturm, Pulverturm, Allenwindenturm and lastly, Dachliturm.
I didn’t go up all nine towers, just 2 of them and I was fascinated by Zeitturm tower which is the oldest clock tower in Lucerne and has the privilege of chiming one minute before all the other towers of the city. The clock was built in 1535 by Hans Luterer and the dials were made especially big so that fishermen could see the time from the harbor. Despite it’s age, the stone weights and stone pendulum still works very well and tells time with much precision.
This historical site is open for most of the year except in winter and the parks grounds surrounding the walls make really good picnic spots as well!
