Mountain Man
Me at the top of Mount Pilatus, with the Swiss Alps behind me
Mount Pilatus rises high over the shores of Lake Lucerne, only a short bus ride away from the centre of Lucerne itself.
The mountain rose to prominence in the 19th century, when Wagner – a famous resident of Lucerne – hailed its vistas and Queen Victoria visited its summit on horseback.
The peak rises 2,132m (7,000ft) high and popular legend has it that it was named after Pontius Pilate, whose corpse was thrown into a lake at its summit and whose ghost haunted the mountain ever since. However, it is more likely named for the Latin word ‘pileatus’, meaning cloud-covered, given the weather conditions which often surround it.
While Queen Victoria rode her horse to the summit, it is now possible to take either a cable car or a funicular train to reach the top – the latter is dependent on the season, as snow covers the tracks during winter.
At the summit, there is a visitor centre, hotels and restaurants, as well as various footpaths which lead you to viewpoints over Lake Lucerne on one side and the Swiss Alps in the distance on the other.
Mountain Man
Me at the top of Mount Pilatus, with the Swiss Alps behind me
Mount Pilatus rises high over the shores of Lake Lucerne, only a short bus ride away from the centre of Lucerne itself.
The mountain rose to prominence in the 19th century, when Wagner – a famous resident of Lucerne – hailed its vistas and Queen Victoria visited its summit on horseback.
The peak rises 2,132m (7,000ft) high and popular legend has it that it was named after Pontius Pilate, whose corpse was thrown into a lake at its summit and whose ghost haunted the mountain ever since. However, it is more likely named for the Latin word ‘pileatus’, meaning cloud-covered, given the weather conditions which often surround it.
While Queen Victoria rode her horse to the summit, it is now possible to take either a cable car or a funicular train to reach the top – the latter is dependent on the season, as snow covers the tracks during winter.
At the summit, there is a visitor centre, hotels and restaurants, as well as various footpaths which lead you to viewpoints over Lake Lucerne on one side and the Swiss Alps in the distance on the other.