Lucerne (/ˌluːˈsɜːrn/; German: Luzern, [luˈtsɛrn]; French: Lucerne, [lysɛʁn]; Italian: Lucerna, [luˈtʃɛrna]; Romansh: Lucerna; Lucerne Swiss-German: Lozärn) is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 80,501 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of transportation, telecommunications, and government of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 cities and towns located in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people.

Due to its location on the shore of Lake Lucerne (der Vierwaldstättersee), within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a destination for tourists. One of the city's famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century.

The official language of Lucerne is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Coordinates: 46°43.389′N 90°46.035′W / 46.723150°N 90.767250°W / 46.723150; -90.767250

The Lucerne was a commercial schooner. In November 1886, it sank due to bad weather in Lake Superior, off the coast of Long Island in Chequamegon Bay. The site of the wreck was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

History

The Lucerne was launched on April 23, 1873. It was nearly 195 feet (59 m) long and reportedly cost $55,000 to build.

On November 15, 1886, the Lucerne was loaded with 1,200 tons of iron ore at Ashland, Wisconsin. The load was consigned to Little, Oglebay and Company of Cleveland. After the delivery, The captain and crew set back for their home port destination. With new canvas sails and a light wind blowing, all the signs pointed to a speedy voyage home. However, a November snowstorm on the lake began developing that night.

It was on November 17 or 18, the Lucerne succumbed to the violent storm, and sank off the shore of Long Island. Unfortunately, at the height of the storm, the Lucerne had been spotted by the captain of the ship Fred Kelly, but could not offer any help to the distressed ship, under the circumstances. Nobody witnessed the Lucerne's final minutes, and none of the crew survived.

The Canton of Lucerne (German: Kanton Luzern) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2014) is 394,604.As of 2007, the population included 57,268 foreigners, or about 15.8% of the total population. The cantonal capital is Lucerne.

History

The canton of Lucerne comprises territories acquired by its capital Lucerne, either by treaty, armed occupation or purchase. The first town acquired was Weggis (in 1380), Rothenburg, Kriens, Horw, Sempach and Hochdorf (all in 1394), Wolhusen and Entlebuch (1405), the so-called "Habsburger region" to the northeast of the town of Lucerne (1406), Willisau (1407), Sursee and Beromünster (1415), Malters (1477) and Littau (1481), while in 1803, in exchange for Hitzkirch, Merenschwand (held since 1397) was given up.

Prehistory

The oldest traces of humans in the Lucerne area are stone artifacts and cave bear bones found in the Steigelfadbalm cave on Mt. Rigi from the Middle Paleolithic or about 30,000 BC. Other animal bones including mammoth, reindeer and giant deer from the local glacial maximum have also been found in the canton. Around 17,000 BC the glaciers disappeared from the Swiss plateau and recolonization is likely at that time.