Natural feature
Lake Lucerne
Deep alpine lake ringed by snowcapped peaks, its winding arms crossed by paddle steamers.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Lake Lucerne in Switzerland centers on the composer Richard Wagner's years at the lakeside villa Tribschen, where he lived through the affair that scandalized musical Europe in the eighteen sixties. It follows Cosima, daughter of Franz Liszt and wife of the conductor Hans von Bülow, and the fear that gripped the household that King Ludwig the Second of Bavaria, Wagner's patron, might learn the truth. Best heard standing near the old villa staircase, looking out toward the water Wagner rowed across for years to keep his double life afloat.
This audio guide was created using AI.