Museggmauer (Musegg Wall), Lucerne

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For a pleasant little jaunt behind the Alstadt (Old City) portion of Lucerne take the time to traverse the Musegg Wall which was built in 1386 and is almost still totally intact. You will be able to gain access to 3 of the 9 towers and if you want to climb some more inside the towers bring a good pair of shoes. To begin walk west from Weinmarket along the river until you get past the turbines on the Reuss River. This will bring you to the Nolliturm, an old fortified gate. Go through the gate and then head up the stoney walk past an urban farm to gain access to the wall.

The 1st Tower on your walk is the Nolli Tower. This tower was modified in 1901 to admit street traffic (see picture #4). I can't say that I saw 2 cars go through the opening at one time.

The 2nd Tower is the Mannli, "Little Man" Tower which is the first of the accessible towers. This tower is named for the little iron man at the top. Unfortunately I did not take a picture, but most websites of the wall show the Tower.

The 3rd Tower is the Luegisland Tower which has a popular old name, "Look Toward The Land". This tower is the highest of all the towers at 52.6 meters and was probably built prior to the wall before 1300 as a watchtower for the protection of the city.

The 4th Tower is the Heu, "Hay" Tower which besides storing hay in times past also stored gunpowder. Needless to say the combination of the 2 proved to be a disaster in the making and in 1701 a lightning bolt struck the tower igniting the gunpower. The resulting explosion destroyed the original tower and took several lives.

The 5th Tower is the Zyt, "Time" Tower which is also the 2nd accessible tower. The clock was installed in 1535 and it is said that the dial and numbers are large so that the fishermen could tell the time from the lake. The bells ring out from the clock tower 1 minute ahead of any other clock in the city.

The 6th Tower is the Schirmer Tower which is the 3rd accessible tower. It is said that passing through this tower one was passing from the City of Lucerne to the countryside.

The 7th Tower is the Pulver or "Powder" Tower. After the events of 1701 it was decided that the cities gunpowder needed to be kept in two separate towers. Today we call that a contingency plan.

The 8th Tower is the Allenwinden Tower and is not actually above the city anymore due to the recent construction around it.

The 9th Tower is the Dachli Tower, has a pyramid roof and is the shortest of all the towers.

The Wall and Towers have no admission and are open from May to October until dusk.

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Take a walk up the hill to Museggmauer, that is the wall or fortress of the city built 500 years ago and it haven’t changed much since then ;-)
It is a nice place for picnic if the weather is good and good view of the city landscape from there.

The walk up to the walls was a bit steep. Once you get there, the tour through the towers and walking along the wall is really cool. I was very impressed with the well preserved towers and you are able to go into them and get to the top of each. To the north, the view of the valley is very good, as well as looking back down toward the Vierwaldstattersee, Lake Lucerne. There is a small museum up there also worth going through

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Museggmauer is the medieval townwall that was built in the 15th century and a large part of it still looks the same as in these old times. You may take a walk along the ancient paths, that were used by the knights when defending the town and you may even step up most of the old towers freely and without restrictions during the day. Musegg-Mauer with its towers is also a great place to enjoy a panorama-view of Luzerne and its surrounding mountain-scenery. There is a total of 9 towers, one of them has the oldest clock of Luzern.

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What would a medieval city be without its walls? Luzern has some towers among the walls that are open for exploration. The views over the city are memorable. Some of these towers have a lot of steps, so it may not be for the feint of heart. The towers are over 500 years old. Underneath the towers are some walking paths. If you think it might rain, refuge can be found in the towers.

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I climbed the Museggwall twice in one day while in Lucerne.
I exited my hotel and turned right out of the door and passed the school (I believe an all-girls school) on the left and before a tower and entryway, I climbed up a steep flight of stairs on the right side of the road, only about 50-100 meters from the hotel door.
On the top of the stairs I turned left up the hill and came across the back of the wall and the gardens/playing field next to it.
I entered the entrance to the wall and climbed up onto the catwalk and walked along the length of the wall, climbing up the three towers accessable to tourists.
All three towers are unique and the 2nd tower has the oldest clock in Lucerne from about 1505 and it is allowed to chime one min. before all other clocks in town. You are easily able to see the pendulam and weights that run the clock mechanisms which is very interesting to see.
The third tower is closest to the river and the top is an observation platform which gives you great views of the town, lake and surrounding mountains.

The city of Lucerne is surrounded by hills and mountains. In the north part of the city are remains of the walls built in the 15th century. It is possible to walk on the walls path and to climb some of the nine towers from which there's a fantastic view of the city and of the lake.

A part of the rampart walls built in 1386. The Wall almost entirely intact. Three towers are open to the public : Schirmer, Zyt and Mannli. The oldest city clock built by Hans Luter in 1535 is on the Zyt tower, This clock is privileged to chime every hour one minute before all the other city clocks.

There's a list of the nine tower part of the Luzern's fortification :
- Nolliturm
- Mannliturm
- Lugislandturm
- Wachturm
- Zeitturm
- Schirmerturm
- Pulverturm
- Allenwindenturm
- Dachliturm

To see more of the Museggmauer follow this link :
The Battlement Walk

A short (but steep) walk from North from the city centre will bring you to the old city walls.

Although you can only walk three sections of the walls, and enter two of the towers, the views from them are very good. Also, one of the towers has a working clock, which you can see all the inner workings of.

The old city wall, built around 1300, is facinating. With the original towers that loom over the city like sentinals, it creates a feeling of stepping back in time. It is truly a majestic looking site, and makes you wonder what life was like back then. There are a few of the towers that you can go into and walk on the wall during the summer time.