Lion Monument Lucerne, Rock relief in Lucerne, Switzerland
The Lion Monument is a rock relief about ten metres long and six metres high, carved directly into a sandstone cliff above a pond in a small Lucerne park. It shows a dying lion with a broken spear in its back, its head and right forepaw resting on a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy, while the Swiss coat of arms leans beside it. The lion's paws are roughly twice the size of a human head.
Swiss Guard officer Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen commissioned Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen to design the work after the events of 1792. The carving into the rock was carried out between 1820 and 1821 by stonemason Lukas Ahorn from Konstanz.
The Latin motto above the lion reads Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti, "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss". Below, the names of 26 fallen and 16 surviving officers are carved, with the figures DCCLX (760 dead) and CCCL (350 survivors). The pond doubles as a wishing well, drained twice a year so the city gardeners can remove the coins.
The monument sits in a small park not far from the old town and is freely accessible at all times. A wooden railing separates visitors from the water and provides an unobstructed view of the sculpture without architectural barriers.
The stone surface still shows traces of the tools Ahorn used to shape the lion. A small cave in the rock above the figure serves as a shelter for bats and is protected by a grating.
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