The Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke)

Today, the Chapel Bridge runs from the Luzerner Theater on the southern bank of the Reuss to St. Peter’s Chapel at Rathausquai, zig-zagging as it passes the older Water Tower.Built in the middle of the 14th century, the Chapel Bridge rests on stone columns beneath the river’s surface. Unfortunately, a fire on 18 August, 1993, destroyed a large portion of the bridge and its paintings. It was rebuilt within a year.

Originally, the bridge was a part of Lucerne’s fortifications. For this reason, the bridge’s lakeside wall is higher than the other side; that made it easier for soldiers to rest their weapons on top of it. Two additional wooden bridges served similar purposes during the Middle Ages: the Spreuer Bridge, which links Kasernenplatz with the Mühlenplatz, and the Hof Bridge, taken down in the mid-1800s, once linked Schwanenplatz to St. Leodegar’s Church.

What is especially remarkable about Lucerne’s wooden bridges is their artwork: the triangular paintings under the eaves of their rooftops. The series of works decorating the Chapel Bridge was created in the first quarter of the 17th century. Municipal clerk and scholar Renward Cysat developed the concept. Artist Hans Heinrich Wägmann painted the pictures and councilman Hans Rudolf von Sonnenberg wrote the accompanying text. The images show scenes illustrating the history of Lucerne and Switzerland, as well as legends from the lives of city patrons Mauritius and Leodegar.

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