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The compact cluster of the medieval houses with Mühlenplatz, Weinmarkt, Hirschenplatz and Kornmarkt , at the north bank of the Old town, The Reuss, forms the ensemble of cobbled, fountain squares with rings of colorful facades. Just northeast of Löwenplatz is one of the highlights of Luzerne, the terribly sad Lion Monument. This dying beast draped over his shield, with a broken spear sticking out of his flank, was hewn out of a cliff face in 1821 to commemorate the 700 Swiss mercenaries killed in Paris in 1792. A short stroll west from Weinmarkt along riverside St Karliquai past the sophisticated-looking hydroelectric turbines on the Reuss (which have had teething problems since they were installed, and still regularly clog up with silt) brings you to the Nölliturm, a fortified gate marking the southwestern extent of a lengthy stretch of the surviving fourteenth-century town walls. Busy Löwenstrasse runs south from Löwenplatz to the riverside; just before you reach the Schweizerhofquai, the arrow-straight St-Leodegarstrasse cuts east to broad steps leading up to the Hofkirche (Sat–Thurs 10am–noon & 2–5pm). This grand structure sits on the site of the first monastery of Luzern, which dated from the mid-eighth century and was dedicated to St-Leodegar, or St Leger. On the south bank of the Reuss is 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. Although many of Luzern’s sights are packed close together in the compact Old Town, there are a few incentives to venture further afield in the city. Facing each other across the lake roughly 2km out of the centre are the Verkehrshaus (Transport Museum) on the northern shore, and the former home of the composer Richard Wagner, now a museum, on the southern shore. Buses run close to both, but the way to get to either place in style is by boat.

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