Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Leodegar (German name: St. Leodegar im Hof) is the main church and landmark in Lucerne. It was built from 1633 to 1639. based on a Roman basilica that burned down in 1633. This church was one of several churches built in the north of the Alps during the Thirty Years War and one of the largest and most elaborately built, wealthy churches dating back to the Germanic style of the late Renaissance.
In the 8th century, there was already an abbey on the territory of the present church, which was built with donations from Pepin the Short, king of the Franks and was called the "Monastery of Luciaria". By the 12th century, the monastery was under the jurisdiction of the Merbach Abbey, whose patron saint was St. Leodegar. In 1291 the abbey was sold to the Habsburgs. In 1433 Lucerne, no longer a member of the Confederation, took control of the abbey. In 1474 the church was transformed from a monastery to a parish one.
Church of st. Leodegera is surrounded by an arched gallery, inside it is the altar of the Virgin Mary, decorated with a bas-relief of black marble that has survived from the old church. But this is not the only altar of the church - the second was consecrated in the name of the Holy Spirit, and statues of saints are installed around the perimeter of the church, including the statues of the patrons of Lucerne - Saints Leonard and Mauricius. The facade of the church is covered with stone carvings depicting saints, decorated with a clock.
