Kappellbrücke S-11-01

Kappellbrücke - full view

Kappellbrücke - portal

Hi Folks
While walking in Luzern, we saw police everywhere. It was May 1st, a traditional day of labor demonstrations in Europe, and a big Communist party day. When I say we saw police everywhere, I mean four or five at each corner, dressed in riot gear, with helmets, shields, body armour and carrying automatic rifles . We did not see any confrontations, but two members of our group, who stayed in old town while we went to the transport museum, did see a police SUV drive into some demonstrators.

Liz was thrilled to be able to walk thru the Kapellbrücke (see 1st four pictures). This bridge burned in August of 1993. Only a small portion was saved. The roof had drawings hanging down from each section, but most of these were destroyed and copies now hang in their place. A couple of burned out drawings are still in place. You can see a corner of one of them in the interior picture. Liz said between the rafters and the lighting, she could not get a better picture. One of our group had a more sophisticated camera and took some shots of these drawings. She promised us scans. Carl said the bridge was part of the city's defenses and he pointed out a wall that encircled the old town. This bridge was built in 1333, and was Europe's oldest covered bridge. Carl says that the Swiss invented the covered bridge.

Next we walked to the Jesuit church (Jesuitenkirche). I graduated from a Jesuit high school (the same one discussed in Tim Russert's book"Big Russ and Me") so I found this interesting. There was a service going on while we entered, so Liz did not take any pictures.

Then we walked to the Spreuerbrücke (see photos). The Spreuerbrücke was never damaged by fire, so the drawings hanging from the roof are the originals. They depict the "Dance of Death" and are rather gruesome. You can see the bottoms of some of them in the interior shot. The final picture is of a drawing on a Luzern building in the old town.
Tom

Kappellbrücke - interior	Kappellbrücke - interior drawing. Photo by Gregor Wenda

Spreuerbrücke S-11-02	Spreuerbrücke - interior

Spreuerbrücke - detail	Luzern Building