Lucerne, also Luzern, city in central Switzerland, capital of Luzern Canton, at the point where the Reuss River issues from the northwestern extremity of the Lake of Lucerne (Vierwaldstätter See). The city is a busy tourist center and also has plants manufacturing chemicals, metal products, and textiles. In the city are the Glacier Garden, a result of the last Ice Age, excavated in the 1870s; and the Lion of Lucerne, hewn in 1821 out of solid rock after a model by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The sculpture is a monument to the Swiss Guard, who perished defending the Tuileries during the French Revolution (1789-1799). Lucerne grew up around a monastery built in the 8th century and has been an important trade center since that time. Population (1998) 57,193.
