The Lion Monument. 



This famous master piece is dedicated to the memory 

 of the Swiss guards of Lewis XVI. It represents 

 in a touching manner their fidelity and bravery , when 

 during the French revolution in 1792 they laid down 

 their arms, by order of the king, and so fell a prey 

 to the fury of the populace, as they retreated unarmed 

 into the Tuileries. The model was made by the re- 

 nowned Danish sculptor Thorwaldsen and was executed 

 from 1819 1821 by L. Ahorn from Constance. 



r |The Lion Monument. 



The monument measures with the grotto 13 metres, 

 the lion itself 9 metres. A large grotto is hewn into 

 the natural sandstone and here rests carved out of the 

 rock a dying lion of mighty forms and a most beau- 

 tiful and touching expression. His body is pierced by 

 a spear. Full of pain the noble animal has broken 

 down, still protecting while dying the scutcheon of the 

 Bourbons. Above the monument can be read carved 

 into the rock the words, "To the fidelity and bravery 

 of the Swiss", beneath it the names of the 26 officers 

 who fell on this terrible day. 



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