Weinmarkt & Hirschenplatz

The story

These two squares are the most colourful corner of Lucerne: almost every house front is painted with scenes, coats of arms and old trades. The Weinmarkt was the wine market, and its Gothic fountain of 1481 by Konrad Lux is called the most beautiful in the city (the original is kept in the Historical Museum). For more than 160 years the Weinmarkt was also a stage: the citizens performed the Lucerne Easter play here, a Passion play with scaffolds all around the square; the town clerk Renward Cysat directed it in 1583 and his stage plan still exists. Walk on to the Hirschenplatz: a big inn sign recalls the Goldener Adler, where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed in 1779.

Key facts

• The Weinmarkt fountain dates from 1481, a work of Konrad Lux.
• The Lucerne Easter play was staged on the Weinmarkt; the plan of the 1583 performance survives.
• Goethe stayed at the Goldener Adler on Hirschenplatz during his Swiss journey of 1779.

Good to know

Free, car-free squares. Shops and cafés all around; look up, the best paintings are on the upper floors.