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'Lake Lucerne' (German: '''Vierwaldstättersee''', lit. "Lake of the Four Forest Cantons") is a lake in central Switzerland, the fourth largest in the country. It lies approximately at co-ordinates .
The lake is a complicated shape, with bends and arms reaching from the city of Lucerne into the mountains. It has a total area of 114 km² (44 sq mi), an elevation of 434 m (1,424 ft), and a maximum depth of 214 m (702 ft). Its volume is 11.8 km³. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including those of Mount Rigi and Mount Pilatus.
It borders on the three original Swiss cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden (which today is divided into the Cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden), as well as the canton of Lucerne, thus the name. Many of the oldest communities of Switzerland are along the shore, including Küssnacht, Weggis, Vitznau, Gersau, Brunnen, Altdorf, Buochs, and Treib. In addition, the meadow of the Rütli, traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation, is on the southeast shore of the lake.
The Reuss River enters the lake at Flüelen (in the canton of Uri, the part called ''Urnersee'') and exits at Lucerne. The lake also receives the Muota (at Brunnen) Engelberger Aa (at Buochs), the Sarner Aa (at Stansstad).
It is possible to circumnavigate the lake by road, though the route is slow, twisted, and goes through tunnels part of the way. Dozens of steamers ply between the different towns on the lake. It is a popular tourist destination, both for native Swiss and foreigners, and there are many hotels and resorts along the shores.
The level of the lake is maintained by a pioneering needle dam in the Reuss River in Lucerne, just upstream from the Spreuerbrücke.

Contents

Cities and places on Lake Lucerne

Trivia

Gallery

External links

Cities and places on Lake Lucerne

Left shore ¹	Right shore
★ Seedorf, Uri ★ Bauen ★ Seelisberg ★ Rütli ★ Treib, Uri ★ Beckenried, Nidwalden ★ Buochs ★ Ennetbürgen ★ Bürgenstock ★ Stansstad ★ Hergiswil, Nidwalden ★ Kastanienbaum, Lucerne ★ St. Niklausen	★ Flüelen, Uri ★ Sisikon, Uri ★ Brunnen, Schwyz ★ Gersau, Schwyz ★ Vitznau, Lucerne ★ Weggis ★ Hertenstein ★ Greppen, Lucerne ★ Küssnacht, Schwyz ★ Merlischachen, Schwyz ★ Meggen, Lucerne
★ Lucerne

¹ At the entry of the Reuss River: the western, later southern shore.

Trivia

Ludwig van Beethoven himself didn't give his ''Moonlight Sonata'' the nickname; it was Ludwig Rellstab who likened listening to the first movement to "watching the waves of Lake Lucerne in the moonlight".

Gallery

Panorama of Lake Lucerne from the city of Lucerne

External links

★ Waterlevels Lake Lucerne at Brunnen

★ Waterlevels Lake Lucerne at Lucerne