One of the first sights that we stopped at when we were in Lucerne, Switzerland was the Lion Monument. The monument was carved in memory of the Swiss Guard of one of the French kings (maybe Louis XVI) who were massacred when the people stormed the palace. The people were so angry about their treatment by the king that they kill all of his guards even though they had been ordered by the king not to defend themselves. This monument was created to honor their memories.
I thought that the monument was fabulous. The details are amazing and the lion looks like he is in so much pain as he is dying.
There is also a good story surrounding this monument, although our guide said that she would not put her hand in the fire to test the truth of the tale. But as legend has it, the Swiss were very slow to pay the French man who had carved the monument. He said that they were all pigs. So he did a little extra work on the silhouette of the cave that the lion is resting in and made it into the shape of a pig. You can see the pig snout at 9:00 and the pig ears at 11:00 (using clock directions). Interesting, no? 
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