LUCERNE'S LION

                                          Famous Swiss Monument

      In Lucerne, Switzerland I fell in love with the country’s famous Lion Statue. Each time I’m in the city I have to visit one of the most famous monuments in the world.

     During the French Revolution 40,000 Swiss served under foreign banners. When a man retired, his son inherited his father’s commission, and the Foreign Legion was big business in those days.

     Swiss mercenaries were killed in 1792 on the Tuileries Palace  steps while defending King Louis XVI. About 25-years later, in 1819, in Rome, Bertel Thowaldsen designed the lion as a tribute to his  fallen Swiss countrymen.  
   Lucus Ahorn was commissioned to be the carver. In 1820-21 when he carved the monument out of a sandstone hillside, the area was in the countryside, well away from the city center.  Today the six-meter (19.5 feet)  high and 10 meter (39.5 feet) long monument is in the center of  Lucerne. An arrow protrudes from the lion’s back, a tear runs down his cheek, and a paw lies across the Swiss shield, protecting even in death.The powerful larger-than-life memorial brings tears not only to my eyes, but to nearly everyone who sees the wonderful statue.

ENGLAND'S WHITE HORSES

                                                  Old Hillside Art

      During visits to England I learned about and saw several large white horses carved into hillsides.  A school teacher carved the first horse in 1856 in southern England.  Such carvings are quite common throughout  the countryside.  Because the soil is chalky and relatively soft in southern England, many horses can be found in this area. There are 16-17 hillside carved horses around the country.

     On the way to Bath, just before leaving the chalk region and shortly before arriving in Bath, the guide called our attention to a horse carving, saying, “This horse is over 80-feet long and is known as the Westbury horse.  About 200 years ago the horse was recarved and enlarged, but the sad thing is it encompassed a horse carving that was 1000-years old, and the original carving is now lost forever.”

     One exception to the chalk horses is the 1857 Kilburn white horse. The huge horse located in the North York Moors National Park in Yorkshire  measures 206-feet by 320-feet long. It is said to be the largest and northern most of England’s horses.  A steeply graded road leads to a car park and a foot path that leads one along the cliff over the horse.

     During WW II the horse was covered to avoid it being a target for enemy bombers.  It is carved out of granite and periodically has to be painted white by men hanging over the cliff by rope and using paint rollers.  (I’m not sure if this is a folk-tale or not.) Apparently  there are some chalk chips imbedded in the horse.

    However, I mused that it must be quite a sight to see grown men hanging over a cliff painting the hillside.