Buergenstock

The Bürgenstock above Lake Lucerne has two of Switzerland's most amazing tourist attractions – the Hammetschwand lift, Europe’s tallest external elevator, and a spectacular cliff path. Construction of the path was initiated by hotel pioneer Franz Josef Bucher and began in 1897. It then took five years to hew out the small tunnels and openings in the cliff face and build retaining walls up to seven metres high. Celebrities from all over the world attended the 1902 opening of the breathtaking 2.6 kilometre path, which repeatedly affords spectacular views of five lakes, the city of Lucerne with Mount Pilatus and the Rigi mountain. Visitors to the Bürgenstock have included Konrad Adenauer, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and French Foreign Secretary Louis Barthoud. But Franz Josef Bucher had yet another bold idea: he wanted to access the highest point on the Bürgenstock, the 1132 metre-high Hammetschwand, with a lift. Construction of the 152-metre-high lift shaft, the first 14 metres of which are entirely inside the mountain, began in 1903 and the lift started operating in 1905. At that time the lift was only open to the front. Today’s lift is glazed on three sides, affording magnificent views of Lake Lucerne and far beyond. It carries an average of 40,000 passengers every year.