Book Kriens attraction tickets

Kriens sits immediately south of Lucerne, separated from the city centre by little more than the Reuss valley and a stretch of suburban road, yet its identity is shaped almost entirely by what rises behind it. Mount Pilatus, the limestone massif that dominates the skyline at just over 2,100 metres, is the reason most visitors pass through Kriens at all, and the town has organised itself accordingly around the lower terminus of the Pilatus-Bahn, the world's steepest cogwheel railway, which has been carrying passengers up through the cliffs since 1889.

The mountain itself belongs to Swiss legend as much as to Swiss geography. Medieval chronicles claimed that the body of Pontius Pilate lay in the summit lake, and for centuries the canton of Lucerne forbade anyone from disturbing the waters for fear of unleashing storms over the city below. That prohibition was eventually lifted, the lake was prodded with sticks to prove it harmless, and Pilatus settled into its modern role as one of the most visited peaks in central Switzerland. The views from the top take in the Bernese Alps, the Jura, and on clear days a panorama that stretches across a considerable portion of the Swiss plateau.