Zuck is a city in Switzerland. Zug, Switzerland: city overview, attractions, interesting facts and reviews. Entertainment and attractions of Zug

Zug (German Zug (Stadt), French Zoug, Italian Zugo, Romansh Zug, Latin Tugium) is a city in Switzerland, the capital of the canton of Zug. The population is 24,665 (31 December 2006). The official code is 1711.

Geography

Location

Located at an altitude of 425 m above sea level on the shores of Lake Zug. Zug is located between the northern shore of Lake Zug and the foot of the Zug Mountain (Zugerberg - German, 1039 m), in Central Switzerland. The distance from Zug to Zurich, which is located to the north, is 23 km.

land use

The area of ​​33.8 km ² of a large municipal area includes the territory on the northeastern shore of Lake Zug at the transition of the Swiss plateau to the Alpine foothills. Of these almost thirty-four square kilometers, just over 12 are on Lake Zug. The length of the lake shore near Zug is about 11 km and extends from the bay east of Cham to Lotenbach near Walchwil. The land part of the Zug municipal district in 1997 consisted of 23.8% of the area of ​​​​the settlement, 35.5% of the agricultural area, 38.1% of the forest and shrubs and 2.6% of the unproductive area.

Water resources

The Lorze Plain (also called the Baarer Plain) includes a 1 km wide strip along the northern shore of the lake, which is on average 420 m above sea level. This floodplain was formed during the last Ice Age due to the erosion of material that Lorze brought with her from the upper catchment. Three streams flow from this plain into the lake, the above named Lorze from west to east from Steinhauser Dorfbach (German: Steinhauser Dorfbach) (forming the western border of the municipality), the Old Lorze and the lock Lorze. Downstream in 1976, Lorze was adjusted and moved more than 1 km to the east. Whereas the former mouth of the Lorze was characterized by a fan at the mouth of the lake at Kollermühle, a straightened riverbed flows at the recreation area of ​​Brüggli on Lake Zug.

Geology

The eastern and southern part of the commune's land starts from the Zug Mountain, which geologically consists of layers of folded subalpine molasse. This pre-alpine mountain, which reaches its highest point at 1039 m above sea level at the top of Hünggigütsch (German - Hünggigütsch), has a plateau up to 2 km wide in the crest zone. Between the moraines of the glacier of the last ice age of the Reuss Glacier, the Eigenried raised bog (German - Eigenried) (mostly in the Walchwilja region) arose here, which is considered one of the most valuable nature reserves in the canton of Zug. On the western side, the Zugerberg descends steeply to the lake, only in the lower part, near the city of Zug, the slope becomes more gentle.

City `s history

Name

The name "Zug" comes from the Old German generic word "zug" (Fischzug - fishing), an abstract concept from the Old German "ziuhan", corresponding to the modern German "ziehen" - to pull. The word "zug" originally referred to the area in the lake near the shore and the right to fish in this ...

Switzerland is characterized by social and political stability, low crime and a high standard of living. However, as one of its inhabitants, Albert Einstein, said, everything is relative. Some regions do particularly well compared to the average, while others lag behind in one way or another.

The local newspaper Die Weltwoche ranked 893 communes (communities) in Switzerland. The attractiveness of cities and towns was assessed according to several criteria: the state of the labor market, development dynamics, welfare, tax burden, socio-economic status and real estate value.

The top ten included only the communes of the German-speaking cantons - Zug, Zurich and Schwyz. According to Die Weltwoche, they are the ones with the highest standard of living. Franco- and Italian-speaking cantons are left behind.

Nearly half of the top ten communes are in the canton of Zug, Switzerland's richest region. In the vicinity of the city of Zug, which took the first line, there is the famous private school Institut Montana Zugerberg, in which the children of the richest families in the world have been studying for almost a century. Among the alumni are Senator John Kerry, who ran for President of the United States, Pierre Mirabeau (President of the Association of Swiss Bankers), the Swarovski brothers and representatives of the Ferrari family. Zug is home to many international companies, including Hugo Boss and Nord Stream.

The ten worst communes for living included the settlements of the cantons of Bern, Solothurn and Neuchâtel. Bern is the official capital of Switzerland, but business life is concentrated in Zurich and Geneva. Solothurn, located in the north of the country, lives mainly on electricity exports.

The most expensive housing in Switzerland is in the village of Cologny on the shores of Lake Geneva. Houses cost an average of 2.8-2.9 million euros, apartments - 1.5-1.6 million. For comparison, in Courjenay, which occupied the last line of the rating, real estate is 4-5 times cheaper. Buyers of housing in Cologny are dominated by bankers and representatives of trading companies. Among them are many foreigners, especially the French, British, Italians, citizens of Eastern Europe and the Far East.

The richest people in Switzerland prefer to settle in the commune of Wollerau. It is located in Schwyz, which is also called the "canton of billionaires". Here, the average per capita income exceeds 120 thousand euros per year. Celebrities live in Wollerau, including Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa and tennis player Roger Federer. The inhabitants of Churwalden (the canton of Grisons) earn the least in Switzerland - about 9 thousand euros per year per capita.

Foreigners can only purchase residential property in certain Swiss cantons. These are generally tourist regions such as Bern, Valais, Vaud, Graubünden, Ticino and Schwyz where local authorities issue purchase permits according to approved quotas.

Capital of the canton of Zug.

Located at an altitude of 425 m above sea level on the shores of Lake Zug. Zug is located between the northern shore of Lake Zug and the foot of the Zug Mountain (Zugerberg - German, 1039 m), in Central Switzerland. The distance from Zug to Zurich, which is located to the north, is 23 km.

land use

The area of ​​33.8 km ² of a large municipal area includes the territory on the northeastern shore of Lake Zug at the transition of the Swiss plateau to the Alpine foothills. Of these almost thirty-four square kilometers, just over 12 are on Lake Zug. The length of the lake shore near Zug is about 11 km and extends from the bay east of Cham to Lotenbach near Walchwil. The land part of the Zug municipal district in 1997 consisted of 23.8% of the area of ​​​​the settlement, 35.5% of the agricultural area, 38.1% of the forest and shrubs and 2.6% of the unproductive area.

Water resources

The Lorze Plain (also called the Baarer Plain) includes a 1 km wide strip along the northern shore of the lake, which is on average 420 m above sea level. This floodplain was formed during the last Ice Age due to the erosion of material that Lorze brought with her from the upper catchment. Three streams flow from this plain into the lake, the above named Lorze from west to east from Steinhauser Dorfbach (German: Steinhauser Dorfbach) (forming the western border of the municipality), the Old Lorze and the lock Lorze. Downstream in 1976, Lorze was adjusted and moved more than 1 km to the east. Whereas the former mouth of the Lorze was characterized by a fan at the mouth of the lake at Kollermühle, a straightened riverbed flows at the recreation area of ​​Brüggli on Lake Zug.

Geology

The eastern and southern part of the commune's land starts from the Zug Mountain, which geologically consists of layers of folded subalpine molasse. This pre-alpine mountain, which reaches its highest point at 1039 m above sea level at the top of Hünggigütsch (German - Hünggigütsch), has a plateau up to 2 km wide in the crest zone. Between the moraines of the glacier of the last ice age of the Reuss Glacier, the Eigenried raised bog (German - Eigenried) (mostly in the Walchwilja region) arose here, which is considered one of the most valuable nature reserves in the canton of Zug. On the western side, the Zugerberg descends steeply to the lake, only in the lower part, near the city of Zug, the slope becomes more gentle.

City `s history

Name

The name "Zug" comes from the Old German generic word "zug" (Fischzug - fishing), an abstract concept from the Old German "ziuhan", corresponding to the modern German "ziehen" - to pull. The word "zug" originally referred to the area in the lake near the shore and the right to fish in this part of the lake, later the nearby settlement was also called that.

History of the foundation of the city

The emergence of the city of Zug is attributed to the 12th century and is associated with the dynasty of the counts of Kyburg, but this is not known for sure. The counts of Kyburg received, possibly, the lands belonging to the city of Zug on the shores of Lake Zug in 1173 in connection with the extinction of the noble family of Lenzburg.

One of the motives for founding the city was its convenient location on the trade route from Zurich to northern Italy through the St. Gotthard Pass, to lead across Lake Zug to Immensee, and from there to Küssnacht and further to Lake Vierwaldstet (Lucerne).

In the first period of its development, the city existed only in one part of today's old city, which, however, had a third, now not preserved, lane, below today's Lower Lane (Untregasse). The current Lower Lane was thus the Middle Lane (Mitelgasse) until the disaster of the Strict City in 1435. Consequently, the area of ​​the city included six approximately parallel lines of houses descending to the South.

In a written reference from 1242, Zug is called Oppidum (lat. Oppidum - city, small town), in 1255 - as Castrum (lat. Castrum - fortress, castle). Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary (German - Liebfraukapelle) was first documented in 1266.

To the north of the old town was a small settlement, a modern suburb of Zug. Archaeological finds and historical sources testify that the city was called the Craft Village with private sheds and moorings for boats no later than the 14th century.

Zug under the Habsburgs

In 1273, less than a month before his election as king of Germany, Rudolf Habsburg bought most of the property previously owned by the Kyburg and Laufenburg families, the city of Zug and Art am See (German: Art am See) from the Kyburg heiress Anna. The Habsburgs immediately laid Zug and some lands in the vicinity of Zug in the direction of Amt.

The Habsburgs built massive city fortifications in Zug. The simple Durchlasstor gate and the Zitturm tower were fortified at the end of the 13th century or around 1300. The defensive walls around the city, internal and external, were fortified, outside of which there was a protective moat. The inner defensive wall may have been built between 1326 and 1370. Earlier studies erroneously interpreted the inner wall as an extension of the city after 1435 or 1478. In 1315 Zug was to serve as a rallying point for troops led by Duke Leopold I before the Battle of Morgarten. After the defeat of the Habsburgs, Zug remained Habsburg, but was completely surrounded by the territories of the Swiss Confederation with the entry of Lucerne in 1332 and Zurich on May 1, 1351. After the confederates did not meet any resistance in the vicinity of the city, on June 8, 1352 they laid siege to Zug. When Duke Albrecht did not want to send help, the city surrendered. Zug joined the Swiss Confederation along with the settlements that belong to it administratively, Ägeri, Menzingen and Baar. However, the so-called accession of Zug did not change the situation of dominance much, because it did not mean the removal of Habsburg dominion over Zug, on the contrary, Zug undertook to continue to recognize the Habsburg courts and continue to levy taxes in their favor.

Business

• Division of Hugo Boss
• Office of international integration of pharmaceutical generic company Actavis
• The headquarters of the mining company Xstrata plc.
• The headquarters of the largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd.
• Headquarters of Nord Stream AG, which operates the Nord Stream gas pipeline (formerly the North European Gas Pipeline)
• Headquarters of Shtokman Development AG Shtokman Development AG). This company is engaged in the financing, design, construction and operation of the facilities of the First Phase of the development of the Shtokman gas condensate field.
• Headquarters Stadler Form
• East Metals AG is a subsidiary of Evraz Group.
• Luxoft headquarters.

Museums

• Regional Museum Seehof ( Heimatmuseum Seehof)
• Tiling Museum ( Ziegelei-Museum)
• African Museum ( Afrikamuseum)
• Museum of Fisheries ( Fischerei-Museum)
• Art Gallery ( Kunsthhaus)
• Museum of the history of primitive society ( Museum fur Urgeschichte(n))
• Museum in Fortress Zug Museum in der Burg)

Educational institutions

School Institut Montana Zugerberg

Photos

View of Zug from the Zugerberg



The building where the cantonal government and the council of state meet



Town Hall at Kolinplatz



Station square and railway station in the background



The oldest known image of Zug in the chronicle of Johan Stumpf (German. Johannes Stumpf), 1548

The Swiss canton of Zug is located in the heart of the country, in the Glarn Alps. Of all the administrative-territorial units of the country, only two half-cantons are smaller than Zug in area - Appenzell-internal and Basel-city. The canton is located mainly on a hilly plateau. The highest point in the east is the Hochrören ridge (1205 m), in the south is Mount Zugerberg (1040 m), which is part of the Rosberg massif, the highest point of which is Mount Wildspitz (1581 m). This massif approaches the lakes Zug and Egeri and separates the hilly region of Menzingen.

The city of Zug, the administrative center of the canton of the same name, is quite small, but it has its own museum of ancient history. All of its exhibits are authentic, they were found near the lakes Zug and Egeri.
The oldest traces of human presence in the canton were found on the northern shore of Lake Zug, archaeologists date them to the 14th century. BC e. (paleolithic). It is also proved that in the period 5500-2200. BC e. There were about 40 settlements here. The first settlements in the Egeri valley and in the municipality of Menzingen date back to this time. The museum also presents finds from the Bronze Age (before 850 BC), the Iron Age (850-50 BC), the reign of the Celtic Helvetian tribe (from the 2nd century) and the Roman province of Helvetia ( from 58, when Julius Caesar defeated the Helvetii), which lasted until the conquest of it by the Alleman. As for the name Zug, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, "train", the most common meaning of the German word Zug, but no, here this name comes from a fishermen's dictionary, in which "zug" is "catch" or "net", from the verb Ziehen - "pull". In antiquity and in the Middle Ages, fishing was the main occupation of all those who lived on the shores of the lakes Zug and Egeri.
Approximately in the IV-V centuries. the territory of Zug was conquered by the Allemans, and then by the Franks. The first written document that mentions Zug dates back to 858, the reign of the founder of the Carolingian dynasty, Ludwig the German (804/805-878). From that time until the thirteenth century the lands of Zug belonged to various monasteries and feudal lords. Medieval historians mention the settlement of Zug in 1242 in Latin as "oppidum" ("small town"), and in 1255 as "castrum" (fortress) built by the counts of Kyburg. In 1273 Rudolf of Habsburg, King of Germany, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and founder of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy bought it from the Kyburgs, who significantly rebuilt the fortress. In 1315, Leopold III of Habsburg was defeated in a battle with the Swiss Union of the Three Cantons (Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden) on the Morgarten Heights, but Zug was still a vassal of the Austrians, like the canton. In 1351 Zurich besieged Zug and Lucerne, in June 1352 Zug surrendered and entered into an alliance with Zurich, Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden. But in the same year, the alliance broke up. Zug became part of the canton of Schwyz, but consolidated its real power over the cities of Walshwil, Ham, Hünenberg, Risch, Steinhausen, Menzingen, Baar and the lands around them.
In the XV-XVI centuries. the defensive structures of the city of Zug with capital towers are being built anew, a monastery, a town hall, and large houses of eminent citizens are being built. During the Reformation period, Zug managed to avoid conflicts with the Protestants that affected many cantons, and remained a stronghold of Catholicism. In December 1481, an agreement was concluded between the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zurich, Glarus, Zug, Bern, Orenburg, Solothurn. This event marked the desire of the Swiss Union for independence from the Holy Roman Empire, but their final break was stated by the Westphalian Peace Treaty of 1648 at the end of the Thirty Years' War.
On April 12, 1798, with the support of Napoleon, the Helvetic Republic was proclaimed. At this historical moment, the canton of Zug was not independent, it was part of the canton of Waldstetten, but it remained in this status for only five years. After 50 years of rivalry and struggle of supporters of federalism and centralized power, conservatives, liberals and radicals, in 1848 the Swiss Confederation finally came into being, and Zug became its equal part.
The city of Zug survived three devastating disasters as a result of floods - in 1435, 1585 and 1887, when entire blocks of houses went under water, people died. After the last flood, the shores of Lake Zug in the city were thoroughly fortified.
Until 1834, Zug was a purely agricultural region, and this year the first factory for the production of cotton fabrics was built in the town of Unterägeri, followed by Neuägeri and Baar. In 1864, with the inclusion of Zug in the Swiss railway network, the economic development of the canton went even faster. In 1866, the Americans built a plant for the production of canned condensed milk in Hama, which later became part of the Nestle company. The network of hotels also begins to grow. Since the second half of the 20th century, due to its proximity to the financial center of the country and all of Western Europe - the city, Zug has become in fact his understudy in the banking business, and then, thanks to its consistent tax policy, it overtakes in terms of income.

Today, the canton of Zug has the most liberal tax laws in Switzerland. The fiscal policy of a state or, as in the case of the canton of Zug, its separate region is a rather complicated thing; to fully understand it, you need to have special knowledge. It matters what functions the company performs, what services it provides, whether or not its owners are residents of Switzerland and other subtleties. Let's just say that the canton of Zug in the richest country in the world is the richest part of it. Federal, cantonal and municipal taxes are levied on the company's profits, and its capital is not subject to federal tax. In addition, tax rates here are much lower than in other parts of Switzerland, and the procedure for collecting them is extremely simple, they are strictly fixed.
The fact speaks for itself: in the quiet provincial canton of Zug, at the end of 2010, there were about 30,000 registered headquarters of various companies - more than in Zurich and Geneva. GRP per capita in the canton of Zug was $110,000 in 2011.
How long this "tax almshouse", as the Swiss Alliance of Left Parties and Trade Unions calls it, no one will undertake to predict. Last year, the alliance gathered more than 120,000 signatures to end "tax tourist" privileges, such as low flat taxes. A referendum on this issue is planned to be held in 2015. If the majority of the country's citizens support the abolition of tax privileges, then the following provision will be included in the Constitution of the Swiss Confederation: “Tax privileges for individuals are illegal. Taxation on the basis of expenses alone is prohibited.” According to the results of cantonal referendums, such privileges have already been abolished in Zurich (2009), Schaffhausen (2011), Appenzell-outer, Basel-rural and Basel-urban (2012). In the meantime, their former foreign residents rushed, of course, to Zug.
However, those who think that in the canton of Zug you can see some incredible luxury right on the street are mistaken: in Western Europe in general, and in Switzerland especially, it is not customary to boast of one's fortune. Moderation and restraint in behavior with a fairly high, but not prohibitively luxurious standard of living - this is truly Swiss style, this has to be reckoned with by the nouveau riche, who are inclined to overspend for show. Wrong will be those who imagine Zug all in skyscrapers. The offices of numerous companies are located in small three-four-story houses, on the doors of which, however, it is difficult to find a place free from signs with indispensable clarifications: “consulting”, “fund”, “trust” or something like that. The real offices of these companies are located far from Zug. Most of these pseudo-offices are in the city of Zug, but they are also found in the smallest towns of the canton. Fortunately, without violating the atmosphere of these places, where the picturesque distances with the Alpine peaks rising above them serve as a “backdrop” for ancient buildings.

general information

Administrative-territorial division: 11 municipalities (communities).

Administrative center: city ​​of Zug - 26,045 people (2012).
Languages: German (official), the majority of the population speaks the Swiss German dialect of Central Switzerland, Italian, Romansh are also common.

Ethnic composition: Swiss - 78%, others - 22% (it is believed that people of more than 100 nationalities live in the canton, most of them are young people studying in numerous educational institutions).

Religions: Catholicism - 62%, Protestantism - 18%, there are small Orthodox communities, Islam and other Eastern confessions - about 3%, about 17% - atheists.

Currency unit: Swiss frank.

Largest cities: Zug, Ham, Baar, Steinhausen.

Major river: Lorze.

Major lakes: Zug (also belongs to the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz), Egeri.

Nearest airport: international airport in Zurich (47 km from Zug).

Numbers

Population: 113,600 (2012).

Population density: 475.3 people / km 2.

highest point: Mount Wildspitz (1581 m).
lowest point: Rüssspitz mountain (388 m).

Climate and weather

January average temperature:+0.5°С.

July average temperature:+18.5°С.

Average annual rainfall: 1120 mm.

Economy

Agriculture: cultivation of wheat, flax, potatoes, pasture dairy and sheep breeding, fruit growing, beekeeping, farm production of butter and cheeses.

Services sector: banking and financial services, educational services, trade, tourism.

Attractions

Curious facts

In this part, since we are in Central Switzerland, I propose to walk through the places associated with the most famous Swiss symbols - William Tell and pocket army knives. And in general, this region laid the foundation for the Swiss confederation - it is no coincidence that it was from the toponym Schwyz originated the name of the country. You can also try the famous fondue, rösti and "toffee" soup. Yes, there is a lot to do, the main thing is to get up early and hit the road!

As for early - I, of course, embellished it. We usually don't go briskly. From the moment you wake up to check out, well, no less than two hours pass. So this time we gathered for a long time in our modest but comfortable See hotel Riviera (85 CHF) in Gersau overlooking the lake and the pier on the shore:


Yes, and moving forward, rejoiced at the sun and stopped at every step to see the classic Swiss views around Lake Lucerne, which you expect to see in this country:




If in the previous days in the north of the country the road and the landscapes surrounding it were rather ordinary (we even managed to draw hasty conclusions about the greater picturesqueness of Austria), then on the road from Gersau to Zug we were forced to admit the prematureness of our criticism:




So, Zug.
The car was left in a convenient covered parking, where we had to return immediately for a thorough change of clothes. And no wonder, the breeze invigorated zugersee and easily shuffled the deck of seagulls in the air:


Zug swans on the shore of the lake - alive and, as it were, alive:

According to our guide, Zug has the lowest tax rates in the country and the highest per capita income. Business life takes place in modern quarters, but the old city, full of Swiss order and charm, is an ideal place for a tourist:





Clock tower tsitturm– the tallest building in the Old Town:

In the lower and upper parts of the old town there are several pedestrian streets with houses in the traditional Swiss style with bay windows and paintings:




And this is downright "The Cossacks are writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan"!


A statue of a boy with a huge pike as a symbol of the fish market that used to be here:

The remarkable building at the top of the old town is nothing short of a castle!


Remains of medieval fortifications around:




The upper part of the old town is green and looks more like a park area:

At a certain moment, this phone suddenly rang for no reason!

Before leaving Zug, it was imperative to try the famous Zuger Kirschtorte- cherry cake. After ordering two servings of a local delicacy at a restaurant overlooking the lake and the old town, we prepared to get what? - Well, yes, a cake with cherries. And here they bring it:


It turned out that Kirschtorte is not a cake with cherries, but a cake with kirsch - a local strong cherry brandy. The cake turned out to be freaky, but the fact that I got carried away with it is for sure. I was afraid for Andrei, because the person does not drink at all, and here he is driving - and on this basis I tried to take away his portion from him. Received a polite but decisive refusal. Eeeh…

Without what it was impossible to leave Switzerland - this is without a knife Victorinox . This factory with a specialty store is located in the town Schwyz- the very one that gave the name to the country:






After buying almost a dozen knives (both as a gift to relatives and in fulfillment of orders from friends and colleagues), we could not help but walk along the streets of Schwyz and its main square with an elegant building town halls:


The painting, made in 1891, tells about one of the key moments - the signing of the charter on the unity of the first cantons of Switzerland:


They say that the natives of Schwyz were excellent workers who were paid very good money. Returning home Swiss built solid big houses:


Once again, we note that outwardly quite ordinary St. Martin's Church inside it turns out to be very magnificent and solemn:



And a few more pictures from the place "where the earth came from" Swiss:

It so happened that on this day we had to constantly refer to the legendary events in the history of Switzerland. It was legendary - because until the evening we continually encountered the legend of William Tell. The same one - with a son, an onion and an apple.
On the way from Schwyz to Altdorf, Andrey once again stopped to take a photo of a truly breathtaking picture of the lake and the mountains surrounding it:




In general, he left - and disappeared. Left the phone in the car. Half an hour later (as it seemed to me - the next day) he appears and explains the reason for the long absence. At first, they say, I was tempted by the figure of the legendary Swiss, prudently installed by a local patriot and marketer on the territory of a small restaurant:

And that's right, a proud profile, an open look - a spitting image of a hero, albeit a wooden one:


Then I spotted some path down - I decided to quickly take a look with one eye. And there - that's what (and at the same time he shows me photos):

And on the birch of the lake he discovers such a memorial in memory of the events that unfolded here:


Inside are four frescoes illustrating key moments in the legend of William Tell:

In general, I, of course, regretted that I did not go. Although I still had a reason to “touch the legend” that evening. We arrived at a small Altdorf, on the square of which William Tell just shot an apple on his son's head:


You can climb the tower:


View from above:


We were pleasantly surprised that in Altdorf they honor and keep the memory of our great compatriot, commander Alexander Suvorov. The tourist office gave us a whole booklet dedicated to "House of Suvorov"- at the address Hellgasse, house 9, in the house of the head of the city government on September 16, 1799, the Russian generalissimo was located:


In addition to the Suvorovhaus, in tiny Altdorf there is also a very pretty building of the arsenal:


In principle, there was nothing else to see here ...

... and we decided to catch another place with a hissing name - Stans.
The central square of this village is Dorfplatz- one of the nicest and most deserted places due to the late time that we were lucky to discover in Switzerland.

At Dorfplatz, a fountain and a monument in honor of the heroic Swiss from the past attract attention:

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which in the Middle Ages was the only church in the canton:

And here is another unexpected composition in the spirit of medieval edifications about the futility of earthly beauty and the omnipotence of death:

This village was remembered not only for unusual monuments, but also for dinner at a local restaurant.


By the evening of this eventful day, we were rather hungry, so in addition to the main dishes, we also added soup to the order. One of them made a lasting impression: we were never able to determine the composition of the ingredients. It looked like toffees were dissolved in boiling water and then boiled for some time with spices. I doubt, of course, the realism of such a recipe, but it felt like it was.
In addition to the “taffy soup”, we also had a chance to taste the famous Swiss rosti(or rosti). This hefty potato pancake is eaten not only on Belarusian soil, but also in Germany, and the central and German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. Later, we even visited the boundary where the border of the use of Röshti and, accordingly, the language section passes - in the city of Fribourg.

In the meantime, after a hearty dinner, we went to Hergiswil where we booked hotel Roggerli. The price was twice as high as on the previous two nights, but the room for 130 francs was truly Spartan.
Right above our hotel was the famous Mount Pilatus. In the evening, they sat in the hotel and read about this place covered with legends, connected with the posthumous misadventures of the body of the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate:
« The body of the former procurator was thrown into the Tiber. However, the waters of the river washed the remains ashore. The same thing happened when Pilate was taken to France and thrown into the Rhone. After that, they tried to drown the corpse in Lake Geneva. But the soul of the criminal, who had been in the body all this time, brought illness and ruin to the inhabitants of the lake. I had to fish out the body and send it to a remote part of the Alps. Here, at Lucerne, Pilate was thrown into a deep dark lake, located near the mountain, which was later called Pilatus.
But the soul of the criminal again did not find peace: the surrounding villages were swept away by hurricanes and rockfalls, washed away by downpours, floods and mudflows. They say that a student who studied theology, and at the same time black magic, saved the inhabitants of the canton from the complete extinction. The theologian-warlock climbed to the top, where he met either the soul, or the procurator himself. Thanks to magical knowledge, the sorcerer achieved that the soul of the criminal began to leave the body only once a year, and on the rest of the days she behaved calmly and did not bother the inhabitants of the valley. There is a belief that every year before Easter, on the day of the execution of the Savior, Pontius Pilate tries to wash his bloodied hands in the waters of the lake. Then for some time the procurator, dressed in a purple toga, stands on the top and looks longingly towards the Holy Land. But woe to him who meets the gloomy Pilate. Even greater misfortunes await anyone who dares to look him in the eye. After all, this person is destined to live only until the next Easter. By the way, legends are legends, but for many centuries the authorities of the canton did not allow anyone to climb Mount Pilatus without special permission, and in 1585 the Swiss staged a stoning of the lake, and then, ten years later, they drained water from the lake. Only in 1980, after the construction of the dam, the lake was restored.».
We decided to give a damn about superstitions and climb up the mountain in the morning, since there is a funicular and other tourist infrastructure for this.
But once again, the weather interfered with our plans: in the morning the mountain was covered with a dense veil of clouds, so paying money (some rather big ones) for the opportunity to play “hedgehog in the fog” seemed like an unnecessary excess.
So we devoted the morning to looking at the surroundings from the wet terrace of our hotel and discussing the suddenly changed plans for the day:


To begin with, it was decided to visit a store at a local glass factory.
The production of glass products in Hergiswil, which began in 1817, almost died out safely in the 70s of the last century, but an enthusiast, designer Roberto Niederer, got down to business. With the support of local residents, he bought the production and made a bet not on the machine production of stampings, but on the manufacture of unique handmade glass products. We wandered for half an hour between endless shelves of transparent glassware until we settled on a candlestick in the shape of a Swiss cross and a modest glass "bamboo" vase, as if broken in the middle. By the way, this vase has become a favorite and has found active use (thanks to my husband for the flowers!)


A couple of photos of Hergiswil:

Then we decided to drive to a place called burgenstock. To do this, I propose to refer to the map:


Lake Lucerne, or rather, Vierwaldstet, - a very bizarre shape. Reminds either a bird or a cross. We spent the night on two sides of this lake - in Gersau and Hergiswil. And now they were trying to get to the rocky and steep coast, overgrown with dense forest - the same Bürgenstock. The guide promised magical views and - just a minute! - the fastest open lift in Europe, which in a matter of seconds will take us to the top of Hammetschwandt (1128 m). But first you need to get there:


Mmmm, I love it!
Having reached by car as far as possible, we set off along the hiking trail Felsenweg. Despite the rather difficult climb for us, we did not regret the chosen road for a second. With each new turn, more and more fantastic panoramas of the lake and its surroundings awaited us:




Even Lucerne could be seen:


The companies that met us to meet us warned us that today, due to windy weather, the elevator was closed. That's a shame! Although, in my opinion, some people were even a little pleased. Because otherwise, “just a few” seconds on such a bandura could seem like an eternity:


We nevertheless approached the elevator, greeted the door:

But we decided to go a little further:


Perhaps one of these villages is Gersau, where we spent the night yesterday.
The way back - from the hill - we rode much faster. I was spurred on by another thought about a very nice restaurant where we left the car. About fondue in this magical place, I will only note here that the paper napkin on the table gave us the opportunity to understand where we actually were.

The next step in our program is Reichenbach Falls, famous for centuries by Conan Doyle and thousands of tourists who consider it their direct duty to leave their own reviews about this place.
It seems to me that I have read so many reports about the falls - that I am no longer able to leave my own, at least somewhat original description.
I will say this: everything here is really the way everyone describes it. Getting into Meiringen, follow the numerous signs to the funicular car park. The funicular is exactly the same as you saw it in the photographs, even the aunt is the same:




The waterfall itself cannot cause a “recognition effect” for us, since “our” Reichenbach waterfall is registered in Abkhazia, and Livanov - Sherlock Holmes did not fight Mariarti here at all:


And Sherlock Holmes himself in Meiringen is not “real”!


But if you don’t bother with it, then everything is quite cool.
An overnight stay that day awaited us a few kilometers from the waterfall - in the town of Hasliberg at the Twing Hotel. The hotel was on sale - 70 francs per night, so I booked it for two nights at once. The rooms in the hotel were furnished in the spirit of "modest, but poor", but after all, we did not come to sit in the hotel. Around us were the most picturesque places!