Der L?wendenkmal

— Le Monument du Lion —

The Lion Monument is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss mercenaries who, in the service of Louis XVI, King of France, were killed during the French Revolution in Paris when the Tuileries were invaded on August 10, 1792, or who were guillotined on September 2nd/3rd, 1792.

The inscription "Helvetiorum fidei ac virtute" mean "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss".

It is important to know that, in addition to agriculture and town-crafts, the mercenaries' service was an important and gainful trade at the time of the Ancient Confederation. At the beginning of the French Revolution, in 1789, about 40, 000 Swiss were serving under foreign banners.

Bertel Thorvaldsen ( 1770-1844, the classicist Danish sculptor, designed the Lion Monument when he was in Rome, in 1819. Lucas Ahorn, stone-mason of Constance (1789-1856), carved it out of the sandstone rock in 1820/1821. The sculpture is six meters long.

The Lion Monument was projected because of Captain Carl Pfysffer von Altishofen. He was in Lucerne during the invasion of the Tuileries and he wished to have a memorial for his dead comrades.

The Lion Monument was inaugurated on August 10, 1821, and the Town of Lucerne bought it in 1882.

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