The ''Lion Monument'' (german: Löwendenkmal), or the ''Lion of Lucerne'', is a rock relief in

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, designed by

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates the

Swiss Guards Swiss Guards (french: Gardes Suisses; german: Schweizergarde; it, Guardie Svizzere'')'' are Swiss soldiers who have served as guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. The earliest Swiss guard unit to be established on a p ...

who were massacred in 1792 during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, when revolutionaries stormed the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It is one of the most famous monuments in Switzerland, visited annually by about 1.4 million tourists. In 2006, it was placed under Swiss monument protection. American humorist and author Samuel Clements (

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

) praised the sculpture of a mortally wounded

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."

Background

From the early 17th century, a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

had served as part of the Royal Household of France. On 6 October 1789, King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

had been forced to move with his family from the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

to the

in Paris. In June 1791 he tried to flee to Montmédy near the frontier, where troops under royalist officers were concentrated. In the 10th of August Insurrection (1792), revolutionaries stormed the palace. Fighting broke out after the Royal Family had been escorted from the Tuileries to take refuge with the Legislative Assembly. The Swiss Guards ran low on ammunition and were overwhelmed by superior numbers. A note written by the King half an hour after firing had commenced has survived, ordering the Swiss to retire and return to their barracks. Delivered in the middle of the fighting, this was only acted on after their position had become untenable.M.J. Sydenham, p. 111, ''The French Revolution'', B.T. Batsford Ltd London 1965 Around 760 of the Swiss Guards defending the Tuileries were killed during the fighting or massacred after surrender. This number is possibly too high, according to late 20th-century research. An estimated two hundred more died in prison of their wounds or were killed during the September Massacres that followed. Apart from about a hundred Swiss who escaped from the Tuileries, the only survivors of the regiment were a 300 strong detachment which had been sent to Normandy (under the king's orders) to escort grain convoys a few days before August 10. The Swiss officers were mostly amongst those massacred, although Major

Karl Josef von Bachmann Karl Joseph Anton Leodegar von Bachmann (3 March 1734 – 3 September 1792) was a Swiss mercenary in French service, best known as the commander of the Gardes Suisses, Swiss Guards during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792. Family Karl Joseph ...

— in command at the Tuileries — was formally tried and guillotined in September, still wearing his red uniform of the Guard. Two surviving Swiss officers achieved senior rank under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

.Jerome Bodin, p. 259, "Les Suisses au Service de la France", Among the Swiss Guards in France who survived the insurrection and soldiers from disbanded Swiss line regiments, about 350 later joined the

Revolutionary Armies A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

of the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, while others joined the counter-revolutionaries in the War in the Vendée. In 1817, the

Swiss Federal Diet The Federal Diet of Switzerland (german: Tagsatzung, ; french: Diète fédérale; it, Dieta federale) was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independen ...

awarded the commemorative medal ''Treue und Ehre'' (Loyalty and Honor) to 389 of the survivors of the regiment.

Memorial

Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen, an officer of the Guards who had been on leave in Lucerne at the time of the August fight, later wrote a book detailing the regiment of Swiss Guards during the French Revolution. This book created a strong reaction throughout conservative circles in Switzerland, which motivated him to organize a public subscription to finance a commerative monument. He began collecting money in 1818, primarily from European Royal houses. He commissioned

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

sculptor

to design the image, and contracted

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

Lukas Ahorn to fashion the monument in a former

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

quarry near Lucerne. The work was completed in 1821; it immediately elicited a combination of praise, national pride, and public criticism, with some displeased that a monument was built to honor Swiss citizens dying for a foreign monarchy. Swiss liberals felt that the personification of Switzerland as a lion seemed to glorify a conservative, counter-revolutionary mindset, and some even threatened to saw off one of the lion's paws in protest. The more liberal (i.e. Protestant) portion of the population preferred internal economic development vs. military emigration to other countries, and decried forming close ties with foreign powers when they were working to create and maintain an independent and neutral country. The monument is dedicated ''Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti'' ("To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss"). Carved into the cliff face, the monument measures ten metres in length and six metres in height. The dying lion is portrayed impaled by a

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

, covering a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland. The inscription below the sculpture lists the names of the officers and gives the approximate numbers of soldiers who died (DCCLX = 760), and survived (CCCL = 350).

Mark Twain on the monument

References in literature and culture

Löwendenkmal - The Lion Monument (Lucerne) 02

* The monument is described by

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

in '' The French Revolution: A History'' (1837). * In ''The

Chalet School The Chalet School is a series of 64 school story novels by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, initially published between 1925 and 1970. The fictional school was initially located in the Austrian Tyrol, before it was moved to Guernsey in 1939 following the ...

Does It Again'' (1955),

Elinor Brent-Dyer Elinor M. Brent-Dyer (6 April 1894 – 20 September 1969) was an English writer of children's literature who wrote more than one hundred books during her lifetime, the most famous being the ''Chalet School'' series. Early life and education Br ...

describes the monument, its history and the associated chapel. * In ''

The Lions of Lucerne ''The Lions of Lucerne'' is a 2002 spy novel by Brad Thor. Thor's first novel with the character of Scot Harvath, an ex-Navy SEAL and current U.S. Secret Service agent, ''The Lions of Lucerne'' relates how Harvath survives an attack which leaves 3 ...

'' (2002) author Brad Thor describes the monument and the Swiss Guard that it commemorates. * In her '' New Yorker'' tribute "My Buddy" (2017), Patti Smith reflects upon the death of Sam Shepard while standing in front of and addressing the monument. * Although sculptor T. M. Brady denied it, his large marble sculpture 'The Lion' was clearly a near-identical copy of the Lucerne Lion. It was installed in the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia in 1894 to honor fallen soldiers of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. That monument became a target of anti-racist sentiment in the 21st century, and was removed from the cemetery on 7 August 2021.

Notes

External links