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Lucerne : The battlements walk
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A short stroll west from Weinmarkt along riverside St Karliquai past the sophisticated-looking hydroelectric turbines on the Reuss (which have had teething problems since they were installed, and still regularly clog up with silt) brings you to the Nölliturm, a fortified gate marking the southwestern extent of a lengthy stretch of the surviving fourteenth-century town walls. Pass through the gate and head right up the hill to gain access to the Musegg battlements (Easter–Sept daily 8am–7pm) and their impressive views. This is an oddly rustic corner of Luzern, cut off from the city behind the walls, and you may well come across a cow or two quietly grazing back here, resident of a part-time urban farm. Stairs rise to the top of both the Männliturm and, further along, the Luegisland-Turm (Countryside Viewpoint Tower), but the battlements walk proper starts at the Wachtturm. From here, you can follow the parapets along to the Zytturm, with the oldest clock in Luzern (granted the honour of chiming one minute before all the others in the town). The bizarrely ugly statue down below is Urweib by local artist Rudolf Blätter, such an unpopular fixture that the municipality had to unveil it in secret one evening. The rooftop walk continues to the Schirmerturm adjacent, gutted by an arsonist in January 1994 and still bearing smoke-blackened stones. This is where the battlements walk runs out, but you can descend to follow the road through the Schirmerturm gate and down tranquil Museggstrasse through another breach in the old wall to the traffic-choked Löwenplatz.


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