Weggis: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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CHF 120 - 424 See & Wellnesshotel Gerbi
 The See & Wellnesshotel Gerbi in Weggis is located right on the shore of Lake Lucerne. It offers panoramic lake views, indoor and outdoor pools and fr… MoreCHF 190 - 365 Post Hotel Weggis
 Situated in the heart of Weggis at the boat pier on Lake Lucerne, the Post Hotel Weggis offers an indoor pool and stylish rooms with balconies, a soun… MoreCHF 155 - 310 Seehof du Lac
 The Seehof du Lac is situated in the centre of Weggis, on one of the loveliest spots on Lake Lucerne. It offers direct access to the lake with the pie… MoreCHF 125 - 295 Seehotel Gotthard
 The family-run Seehotel Gotthard on the shore of Lake Lucerne offers rooms with beautiful views and free Wi-Fi, 3 restaurants and free access to a wel… MoreCHF 145 - 290 Wellness Hotel Rössli
 Generous facilities and a stylish ambience with palm trees characterise the Wellness Hotel Rössli in Weggis.
The restaurant serves fancy Mediterrane… MoreCHF 120 - 220 Wellness Hotel Graziella
 The Graziella is an unique Spa-Hotel in Weggis, near Luzern.
Elegant and tastefully appointed hotel rooms provide every
comfort with a friendly ambian… MoreCHF 212 - 1,378 Park Hotel Weggis
 Situated right on the banks of Lake Lucerne, the Park Hotel Weggis offers you luxurious rooms and suites, exquisite spa facilities including a heated … MoreCHF 75 - 255 Hotel Schweizerhof
 The privately owned and managed Hotel Schweizerhof offers a wonderful location right at Lake Lucerne in the village of Weggis, fine cuisine and cosy r… MoreCHF 135 - 320 Hotel Alexander
 The hotel Alexander is a first class, modern hotel, very quiet located and not far from the village center of Weggis. It has a marvelous view over the… MoreCHF 130 - 280 Garni-Hotel Frohburg
 The Garni-Hotel Frohburg enjoys a quiet, lake-side location in the centre of Weggis. All rooms have a balcony facing the lake and Wi-Fi is provided fo… MoreCHF 135 - 368 Hotel Beau Rivage Weggis
 The Hotel Beau Rivage Weggis is located right on the shore of Lake Lucerne. It offers a restaurant with a lakeside terrace, an outdoor pool, a wellnes… MoreCHF 180 - 265 Hotel Central Am See
 This hotel enjoys a quiet yet central location right on the banks of Lake Lucerne in Weggis. It offers lake and mountain views from all rooms and a pa… MoreCHF 80 - 180 Hotel Friedheim
 Family-run for more than 100 years, Hotel Friedheim enjoys an elevated position above Weggis. It offers a sunbathing lawn, panoramic views of Lake Luc… MoreCHF 90 - 999 Alpenblick
 The Hotel Alpenblick in Weggis offers panoramic views of Lake Lucerne, an indoor pool, a restaurant with a lake-view terrace and free garage parking.
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Weggis: Guide
Weggis is a Municipalities of Switzerland|municipality in the district of Lucerne of the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. It forms part of the northern shore of Lake Lucerne. The official language is German language|German.
Neighboring municipalities
Weggis borders Küssnacht and Greppen to the north, Arth in Canton Schwyz to the north-east, Vitznau in the east and south-east, and Lake Lucerne.
Geography
Weggis lies on a projection into Lake Lucerne at the southwest base of Rigi, a mountain; such projections are named Weggiserbuchts for the one on which Weggis lies. The town has a famously mild climate and is well known for the numerous southern plants (chestnut trees, palms, grapes and orchids) that thrive there.
The town of Weggis lies on a south-facing plain on the shore of Lake Lucerne. Formerly, the town consisted of only two communities, Unterdorf in the west and Oberdorf in the east. Because of development in the last decades, new communities have developed: Hinterdorf (east of Oberdorf), Rain and Laugneri (near Hinterdorf), Baumen and Dörfli near Unterdorf, as well as Tischital and Rigiblick on the slope above Oberdorf. The community of Hertenstein (2.3 km south-west of the town, on the lake shore) lies in the extreme south-west corner of the municipality, on a peninsula. On the municipal border with Vitznau, 1.9 km south-east of the town, another quasi-community has developed. From the lake shore at elevation 436 m, to an elevation of 794 m, several hamlets have grown together. They are: Riedsort (on the lake shore), Bannholz (elev. 667 m), Bodenberg (elev. 642 m), and Sentiberg (elev. 794 m). High up the slope, accessible by cog railway and aerial tramway, lies the community of Rigi Kaltbad (2.8 km north-east of the town, elev. c. 1450 m). Many other neighborhoods and single farmsteads belong to the municipality.
With the exception of the Herrenwald, north of Hertenstein, the western and central portions of the municipality are unforested. The slopes of Mount Rigi to the east of Hinterdorf look completed different, however. This part of the municipality is heavily forested. Large areas of forest include the Kirchenwald on the slope north-east of Hinterdorf, through which the Kienbach river flows on its way to Lake Lucerne, and the Seeboden area, on the eastern border of the municipality.
The municipal border runs north for 1000 meters of elevation gain from west Unterwilen (in Vitznau) on Lake Lucerne, up to Rigi-First (in Canton Schwyz). And from there it runs north-westerly to Rotstock (elev. 1659 m). Then it turns to the west and runs south of Greppen back to Lake Lucerne.
The area of the municipality is 11.82 km² (not including lake area), and is 46% arable. Almost the same amount, 39% is covered in forest, and 14% is developed.
Population
Population growth
From 1850 till 1880, with exception of 1870, the number of inhabitants remained constant. From 1880 until 1970 was a period of population growth (of 94.5%), interrupted by two periods of stagnation, 1930-1941 and 1950-1960. In these ninety years the population nearly doubled. The 1970s brought a setback (of -6%). Since then the population has grown very much because of the municipality's good location and the local hotel management school's high enrollment. Weggis may soon reach a population of 4000 (pop. 3927 as of 2004) (1980-2004: +65.9%). One unique population characteristic is the fact that over 200 Chinese (mostly from the Shanghai region) who are studying at the hotel management school, live in Weggis. On June 30, 2005 the municipality had 3990 inhabitants.
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Language
The population uses a dialect of High Alemannic German|Alemannic (or Swiss) German as their everyday language. The dialect of Weggis deviates greatly from that used in Lucerne, and is more similar to that used in Canton Schwyz.
Example: German: ich gehe Lucerne: ech goh Schwyz/Weggis: ich gah
Example: German: neu Lucerne: nöi Schwyz/Weggis: nüü
At the time of the last census (2000) 84.9% listed German as their primary language, 1.63% listed Portuguese language|Portuguese and 1.41% listed English. However, the second most common language is Chinese language|Chinese, which, however, is listed only as an "East Asian Language" in the census.
Religious denominations
Formerly, all citizens were members of the Roman Catholic Church. This has been changed by people leaving the church, and by immigration from other parts of Switzerland, and from foreign countries. Today (as of 2000) the religious composition of the population is as follows. 59.98% are Roman Catholic, 16.7% are Protestant, and 1.66% are Orthodox Christians; 10.01% are atheist and 1.99% are Muslim. Among the people who gave provided no data about their beliefs, some were probably Buddhist Chinese. The Chinese also make up the most important part of the atheist group. The Orthodox Christians and Muslims are almost entirely people from the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia).
Origin-nationality
Of the 3927 inhabitants at the end of 2004, 3141 were Swiss and 786 (or 20%) were foreigners. At the time of the last Census 75.19% (or 80.31% including dual citizens) were Swiss citizens. The largest immigrant groups come from China, Germany, Serbia and Montenegro (mostly Albania), Portugal, Italy, Austria and Great Britain.
Tourism
After Lucerne, Weggis is the second biggest tourist destination in Canton Lucerne. With the aerial tramway one can arrive at Rigi-Kaltbad, in the neighborhood of which is located Viewpoint Känzeli. From Rigi-Kaltbad one can continue his climb up the mountain on the cog railway (Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn). Weggis is also designated the "Riviera of Central Switzerland" because of its "tropical" climate.
Transportation
Weggis is easily reached by public transportation, although it is not on a train line. In fact, it is serviced with ships and buses by the Schiffahrtsgesellschaft Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne Ship Company). The "Riviera" bus line Küssnacht (train station)- Weggis- Gersau- Brunnen (train station)- Schwyz connects the municipalities on the route with the surrounding area. The train station in Küssnacht is on the line from Lucerne to Goldau, and the train station in Brunnen is on the "Gotthard" line (Basel-Chiasso). The ships to and from Lucerne operate mostly hourly.
Weggis is on the road connecting between Küssnacht and Brunnen. The nearest Autobahn exit, for the A4, is 10 km away, in Küssnacht.
History
In about 800 the monastery of Pfäfers acquired the court of Wattawis. The municipality had been settled even earlier, however, because the name Weggis comes from the Celtic languages|Celtic and meant Place of the Ferrymen. The freedom-loving inhabitants were subordinates of rule of the Habsburgs at some times. For both the monks and the Habsburgs the Lords of Hertenstein exercised regency. By 1332 Weggis and Gersau were free republics and allies of the neighboring early Switzerland. This was confirmed in a treaty between them in 1359. Thereafter, the Lords of Hertenstein sold their rights to Lucerne in 1380. They administered Weggis until 1798 as part of the Landvogtei of Weggis. The citizens of Weggis resisted the Lords of Lucerne through multiple rebellions before 1588. In the peasant war of 1653 they sided with the rule of Lucerne for once. The municipality belonged to the district of Lucerne from 1798 until 1803, and thereafter to the newly formed Lucerne Authority. In 1798 the community of Vitznau was separated from Weggis and formed into an independent municipality. In 2005, the project of combining the three municipalities around Mount Rigi in Canton Lucerne was delayed indefinitely.
Miscellaneous
The municipality became internationally famous in early 2006 as the Brazilian national football team prepared for FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Weggis is one of the numerous (so-called) tax havens on Lake Lucerne.
In 1919 the first bathing beach in central Switzerland, at which men and women didn't have to bath separately, opened.
References
Most of the information on this site was translated from the German Language version of this same article.
External links
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Weggis". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.