- Address: Bahnhofstrasse 15, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland
- Phone: +41 41 227 17 17
- Opening hours: 10:00 to 17:00
- Cost of visit: free of charge
Walking along the streets of a Swiss town on the coast of Lake Lucerne in Lake Vierwald , you can come across an inconspicuous building decorated with numerous flags. In fact, behind this simple, but majestic facade is a real Italian palazzo.
From the history
The knight's palace in Lucerne began to be built in 1557, but even then the architects decided that he would be in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The customer was one of the richest and most influential people and concurrently cantonal elder Lucerne - Luks Ritter. After the death of Ritter, the building was given to the Order of the Jesuits. For some time the Jesuit college was located here, but since 1847 the building is the residence of the administration of the canton.
What to see?
The author of the project of the Lucerne Knight's Palace is the Italian architect Domenico del Ponte Solbiolo. That is why, despite the fact that the building is in the heart of Switzerland , it is literally imbued with the spirit of Italian Tuscany. Working on the project, the architect was inspired by the image of Italian palaces (palazzo). Knight's Palace is a three-story mansion with a cozy courtyard. It is the Florentine courtyard, filled with sunlight, is the main decoration of the palace. It is surrounded by a Tuscan colonnade, and in the center is a murmuring fountain. This place gives the building a special refinement and elegance.
The walls of the palace serve as a kind of gallery, in which canvases of the famous Swiss artist Jacob von Wil are presented. All the pictures refer to the cycle of works, called the "Dance of Death". Each painting is imbued with a magical meaning and a hidden implication. Walking along the corridors, be sure to pay attention to these mystical works.
Despite the fact that outside the building of the Knight's Palace looks laconic, inside you can see all the beauty of the Italian palazzo, namely:
- stucco molding;
- coffered ceilings;
- wall painting;
- elegant molded vaults and much more.
Each corner of this estate is impregnated with the spirit of Italy. Walking along these corridors with a colonnade and arcades, it seems that you are in one of the Tuscan mansions. On the territory of the palace there is also a room in the style of classicism - this is a large hall that serves as the meeting place for the Cantonal Council of Lucerne. It was built only in the 1840s and has a semi-circular shape.
How to get there?
The Knight's Palace is located within the city limits, so you can easily reach it by bus or tram. And you can get to Lucerne on one of the trains that leave every hour from Zurich .
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