Lucerne

Lucerne (/ˌluːˈsɜːrn/; German: Luzern, [luˈtsɛrn]; French: Lucerne, [lysɛʁn]; Italian: Lucerna, [luˈtʃɛrna]; Romansh: Lucerna; Lucerne Swiss-German: Lozärn) is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 80,501 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of transportation, telecommunications, and government of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 cities and towns located in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people.

Due to its location on the shore of Lake Lucerne (der Vierwaldstättersee), within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a destination for tourists. One of the city's famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century.

The official language of Lucerne is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Canton of Lucerne

The Canton of Lucerne (German: Kanton Luzern) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2014) is 394,604.As of 2007, the population included 57,268 foreigners, or about 15.8% of the total population. The cantonal capital is Lucerne.

History

The canton of Lucerne comprises territories acquired by its capital Lucerne, either by treaty, armed occupation or purchase. The first town acquired was Weggis (in 1380), Rothenburg, Kriens, Horw, Sempach and Hochdorf (all in 1394), Wolhusen and Entlebuch (1405), the so-called "Habsburger region" to the northeast of the town of Lucerne (1406), Willisau (1407), Sursee and Beromünster (1415), Malters (1477) and Littau (1481), while in 1803, in exchange for Hitzkirch, Merenschwand (held since 1397) was given up.

Prehistory

The oldest traces of humans in the Lucerne area are stone artifacts and cave bear bones found in the Steigelfadbalm cave on Mt. Rigi from the Middle Paleolithic or about 30,000 BC. Other animal bones including mammoth, reindeer and giant deer from the local glacial maximum have also been found in the canton. Around 17,000 BC the glaciers disappeared from the Swiss plateau and recolonization is likely at that time.

Lucerne District

Lucerne District (German: Luzern) is a former Amt (administrative district) of the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. It had a population of 176,710 (as of 2013) and consisted of 18 municipalities, of which the city of Lucerne is the largest and the district capital. On 1 January 2013 the Amt was divided into two Wahlkreis, Lucerne-Stadt and Lucerne-Land.

Mergers

On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Littau merged into the municipality of Lucerne.

References

Coordinates: 47°10′N 8°10′E / 47.167°N 8.167°E / 47.167; 8.167