Spreuer Bridge Lucerne

The Spreuer Bridge at Kasernenplatz, located near the motorway access road, is shorter than the Chapel Bridge with its water tower. It consists of two wings: the south wing, which leads from the Herrenkeller to the middle island in the Reuss, and the north wing, which connects the middle island and Mühlenplatz. The south wing was built in 1408 and may be considered the oldest original wooden bridge in Switzerland after the fire at the Chapel Bridge. The north wing was built at the beginning of the 19th century. It got its name "Spreuerbrücke" because the chaff from the nearby city mills was poured over the edge of the bridge into the Reuss river. On the south wing of the Spreuer Bridge is the bridge chapel. It shows with its changing decoration motives and figures from the cycles of the church year.

Picture cycle

As with the Chapel Bridge, the Spreuerbrücke also shows a cycle of pictures. The painter Caspar Meglinger created it between 1625 and 1635. It is in the tradition of the Holbein Dance of Death, which was destroyed in Basel in the 19th century. It continues the European tradition of the "Danse macabre", which originated in the Middle Ages, and today represents the largest surviving dance of death in Europe. The cycle of paintings shows how rich and poor fall victim to death and is one of the masterpieces of Swiss late Renaissance painting.

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