Michael and I have many favorite restaurants but the Old Swiss House in Luzern is our favorite of the favorites. We especially favor the wienershnitzel prepared at tableside. The food is extraordinary and the service is impeccable. It is all in the small details.
History of the Old Swiss House
"On December 17, 1858, Samuel Stauffer was granted from the Luzern city council to create a bar house on his "Weymatte" property, only a few steps from the Lion Monument built in 1821. Since the Weymatte and Antoni Brunnen lay outside the municipality at this time, he was ordered to keep a narrow path without snow in winter in order to make it easier for visitors to early mass to make it easier for visitors to the court church. When Samuel Stauffer became too much of this work, he gave this part of the property to the city of Luzern. Stauffer holding a museum of stuffed alpine animals in his house in October 1859 and called it "Staufferisches Museum der Animals".
"On February 1, 1888 Caspar Hirsbrunner bought the property and used it as a residential building and photo studio. His wife invited the "Haute Volée" of Luzern to the bridge and started serving tea to her guests in the Röseli Room for a fee."
"Wilhelm Buholzer, born on October 10,1889, was the next owner of the Löwenplatz 4 property, to which the Real-Gasthaus-Recht was transferred from the Hotel Mohren an der Kapellgasse in 1931. Under the direction of his wife Ida Buholzer, the house was granted restaurant character for the first time. For many years with great professional skills, she had the cuisine of the Old Swiss House, while her husband dedicated himself to the guests in the restaurant. At that time, General Guisan was also a welcome guest and often held secret meetings in the Röselizimmer during the war years."
"In 1951, Mr. August A. Busch, owner of the world's largest brewery "Aheuser-Busch", dated at the Old Swiss House, met Trudy Buholzer, the daughter of the house and married her in 1952. The American media used this marriage as an opportunity to make Old Swiss House known overnight in the USA."
You start with a unique setting
Add a welcoming staff who are attentive to your needs and wants. Pia recognized us and came over to hug us. The owner also came and shook our hands to welcome us back. The cooks use all local top quality ingredients in the preparation of the food.
Very tender cutlets of veal are dipped in the restaurant's own top-secret blend of beaten egg, Swiss cheese and herbs. The cutlet is then coated in specially prepared breadcrumbs and cooked in pure butter at your table. The delicious and now world-famous Wienerschnitzel is served with half a lemon and fresh egg noodles.
They have been serving this specialty wiernerschnitzel at tableside more than 1500 to 1600 times per month for 80 years.
The recipe…
150 grams of best-quality veal, pounded till very tender
Five lightly beaten eggs, 50 grams grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
Homemade breadcrumbs
A generous quantity of butter, 80 grams per person
Half a lemon
Serve with: fine egg noodles garnished with roasted breadcrumbs
I learned the secret to the noodles but I'm sworn to secrecy.
Yes, that's a considerable amount of butter!
Pia had us move to her section so she could wait on us.
You only turn it over once
The wine is from the Ticino region.
For dessert, Michael had a Sgroppino (vodka, prosecco, and lemon sorbet)
I had the house specialty: chocolate mousse.
You start with a large amount of whipped cream.
Add one scoop of chocolate mousse.
Then, add a second scoop.
Of course, Michael gets to have a mini birthday cake and a hug.
You finish the meal with chocolate. The eight o'clock mints were tasty. My grandmother enjoyed eating them.
Around the corner from the Old Swiss House is the Löwendenkmal, the Lion's Monument. Carved in stone, yet deceptively alive – Luzern’s world-famous Lion Monument has been impressing visitors from near and far for very many years. The imposing stone lion, however, is more than “just” a monument. Depending on your point of view, it can be seen as a commemoration, a work of art or a memorial. The Löwendenkmal is visited by around 1.4 million people every year.
"August 10, 1792: on this day, some 1,000 Swiss guardsmen were protecting the life of King Louis XVI of France with unconditional loyalty and bravery. The revolutionaries stormed the King’s residence which the Swiss were defending, leading to the virtual annihilation of the Swiss Guard. The Lion Monument, a powerful memorial, pays homage to the selfless heroes of these men.
One of the guards, who happened to be on leave at home in Luzern on that fateful day, was the officer Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen. He spent years brooding the tragic loss of his comrades-in-arms, then initiated the creation of a fitting monument to the fallen men, proposing the cliff below the Wesemlin as a suitable location and raising funds for this major project.
"The sculpture of a larger-than-life lion, designed by the famous Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen, became a reality in a little over a year and was inaugurated in 1821 – a masterpiece that continues to exude worldwide appeal to this day. Or, as the American writer Mark Twain put it: “The Lion of Luzern (is) the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”
"The next stop was the court church of St. Leodegar. The court church is the main church of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Leodegar in the courtyard, one of the eight Catholic parishes of Luzern and it is also the collegiate church of the of St. Leodegar. The court church was built from 1633 to 1639 partly on the foundations of the Romanesque basilica, which had burned down in 1633, and is one of the few churches built north of the Alps during the Thirty Years' War and is one of the largest and most artistically valuable churches in the German early Baroque."
Lit 5 special candles.
Wrote a very long prayer intention.
Strolling along the lake.
Clean clear water
The Chapel Bridge together with the Water Tower form the most photographed location in Luzern.
"The defiant yet handsome Water Tower was erected before the Chapel Bridge, sometime around 1290–1300. Octagonal in shape and with sides 4.4–5 meters long, the edifice is rather unique. The tower is 39 meters in circumference and 34.5 meters in height. It has served a variety of purposes during its 700 years. As a lookout post, the comings and goings of boats in the town’s bay could be monitored. It formed part of the town’s lake-facing fortifications alongside the Hof and Chapel Bridges. It was used as an archive on a number of occasions from the 14th century onwards. The town’s archives were finally moved out of the tower in 1919. It served as the cantonal treasury and as a place of safety for war plunder. Until the late 18th century, the tower was also used as a prison. Prisoners had to sit on a toggle and be lowered into the dungeon on the end of a rope, re-emerging only after serving their sentence. Located just above the dungeon is the armory, which today contains an extensive display of weaponry courtesy of the Artillery Association."
"A major part of the Chapel Bridge caught fire in the night of 18 August 1993. All that could be saved were the two bridgeheads and the Water Tower. The remainder of the bridge was rebuilt in a record eight months, allowing the new Chapel Bridge to be reopened on April 14, 1994. Never before has Central Switzerland experienced such an incident as that which befell the emblem of an entire country and moved so many people around the world. When all is said and done, the Chapel Bridge – an incredible 650 years old – served not only in its early days as a means of crossing the river on foot, but also as part of the town’s fortifications. Forming the bridgeheads were the chapel on the right-hand bank and the Freienhof (now gone) on the left. Immediately recognizable when viewed from the air, the Chapel Bridge and Spreuer Bridge appear to bind the town together."
The Luzern Jesuit Church is a Catholic church and the first large Baroque church built in Switzerland north of the Alps.
Flowers and music are important to the people of Luzern.
"Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is associated with Lake Luzern, as the poet Ludwig Rellstab compared the first movement of the piece to the reflection of moonlight on the lake.
The Moonlight Sonata is a piano sonata that Beethoven published in 1801. It's considered one of Beethoven's most popular piano compositions, and is the most frequently recorded of his 32 piano sonatas. The piece is known for its mysterious first movement, which some say is gently arpeggiated and seems improvised. The German nickname for the piece is Mondschein-Sonate, which was established by 1840. The nickname may have first appeared in English in a British edition of the piece published in 1841."
"Luzern is a city that's known for its connection to classical music. Composers and conductors like Sergei Rachmaninoff and Arturo Toscanini have lived in Luzern and composed parts of their works there."
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