Spreuerbrücke

Surprising as it may be to have one covered bridge that has survived for several centuries, Lucerne has two. The second covered wooden bridge, the Spreuerbrücke, was built in 1406, and inside, on triangular panels under the bridge’s rafters, are 45 paintings of the Dance of Death, known in German as the Totentanz.

Painted between 1616 and 1637 by painter Kaspar Meglinger and his students, this is the largest example of a Totentanz cycle known to exist. These are framed in black, each frame inscribed with explanations in verse of the painting’s subject and the names of the patrons who donated them. Some also have portraits of the donors.