Lion Monument

About this audio guide

This guide to the Lion Monument in Lucerne follows the money behind the carved cliff face above you, from a subscription a former Swiss Guard officer raised to honor comrades killed defending King Louis the Sixteenth in seventeen ninety-two, to the deal a go-between struck with Bertel Thorvaldsen, the most famous sculptor of his day. You will hear about the stonemasons who actually cut the lion from the rock, one of whom never lived to see it finished. Take a moment at the grotto's railing before you move on.