The Church of St. Leodegar (German: St. Leodegar im Hof) is the main church and landmark in Lucerne. It was built from 1633 to 1639, based on a Roman basilica that burned down in 1633. This church was one of several churches built in the northern Alps during the Thirty Years' War and one of the largest and most skilfully built, wealthy churches belonging to the Germanic style of the late Renaissance period.
In the 8th century there was already an abbey on the site of the present church, which was built with donations from Pepin the Short, King of the Franks and called the "Monastery of Lucarius". By the 12th century the abbey was under the jurisdiction of the Abbey of Merbac, whose holy intercessor was St Leodegar. In 1291 the abbey was sold to the Habsburgs. In 1433 Lucerne, at that time no longer a member of the Confederation, took control of the abbey. In 1474 the church was converted from a monastery to a parish church.
The church of St Leodeger is surrounded by an arched gallery, and within it is an altar to the Virgin Mary, decorated with a black marble bas-relief preserved from the old church. But this is not the only altar of the church - the second one was consecrated in the name of the Holy Spirit, and around the perimeter of the church there are statues of saints, including statues of the patron saints of Lucerne - St Leonard and St Mauritius. The façade of the church is covered with stone carvings depicting saints and decorated with a clock.
