Lucerne is a plant that is grown for animals to eat and in order to improve the soil. = alfalfa. German Luzern City (pop., 2000: 59,496), central Switzerland. Located southwest of Zürich, on Lake Lucerne and its Reuss River outlet, it developed around an 8th-century monastery. It joined the Swiss Confederation in 1332. A stronghold of Catholicism during the Reformation, it later took part in the Sonderbund war. It is a tourist centre, with its medieval walls, towers, and covered bridges. Among its many monuments is the famous Lion of Lucerne, carved in rock, which commemorates the Swiss Guards slain while defending the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792
German Vierwaldstättersee ("Lake of the Four Forest Cantons") Lake, central Switzerland. It is 24 mi (39 km) long and 0.5 to 2 mi (0.8 to 3 km) wide, with an area of 44 sq mi (114 sq km). It has a maximum depth of 702 ft (214 m). The "Cross of Lucerne" is formed by its four main basins, which are joined by narrow channels. Named after the city of Lucerne at its western end, it is in a region of resorts and tourist attractions