The Dying Lion of Lucerne

The Lion Monument or Löwendenkmal  is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn..

It is basically a War Memorial that commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France.

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The Lion lies in his lair in the perpendicular face of a low cliff — for he is carved from the living rock of the cliff. His size is colossal, his attitude is noble. His head is bowed, the broken spear is sticking in his shoulder, his protecting paw rests upon the lilies of France. Vines hang down the cliff and wave in the wind, and a clear stream trickles from above and empties into a pond at the base, and in the smooth surface of the pond the lion is mirrored, among the water-lilies.

Around about are green trees and grass. The place is a sheltered, reposeful woodland nook, remote from noise and stir and confusion — and all this is fitting, for lions do die in such places, and not on granite pedestals in public squares fenced with fancy iron railings. The Lion of Lucerne would be impressive anywhere, but nowhere so impressive as where he is.

— Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad, 1880

Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti  inscribed on the top of the sculptured cave means : To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss.

The lion is portrayed impaled by a spear, covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis (a Lily or an Iris which is a decorative or symbolical feature  of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland..

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Don’t forget check my article the ‘New Asian Age’, named as The Money Spinners :  Click Here    or Click on the image above..

Also you might like to check another post from the same City : Lucerne

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Images & Concept : Marcus Sam