the lion of luzern

The Lion Monument of Luzern, Switzerland.
Carved out of natural rock in 1820, "it was designed as a memorial for the mercenary soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives while serving the French king Louis XVI during the French Revolution."

Mark Twain called it "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world".

I've seen quite a number of rock and marble sculptures in Europe but this has to be the most breathtaking. Jac told us about the line above from Mark Twain and I said that he's just being dramatic because he is Mark Twain but damn this monument is pretty amazing. You could feel the sadness of the lion without needing to know its story. Luzern is worth going just for this rock.