Lucerne (in German Luzern), capital of the canton of the same name, lies at the north end of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstätter See - Lake of the Four Forest Cantons) at the point where the River Reuss flows out of the lake. For more than a century the town, with its well-preserved medieval core and
elegant historic old buildings, has been one of the great tourist attractions of Switzerland. Eminent conductors, soloists and orchestras appear at the annual music festival.
Lucerne first appears in the records in 840 as Luciaria. The name comes from the Benedictine monastery of St Leodegar, founded about 730. After the opening of the St Gotthard pass in the 13th C. it became an important trading town. In 1291 it fell into the hands of the Habsburgs, but in 1332 joined the Confederation. After the occupation of the whole of Switzerland by Napoleon in 1798 Lucerne was for a brief period capital of the Helvetian Republic.
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