Lucerne, Switzerland, May 12, 2015 - With the FIVB World Tour visiting the Swiss city for the first time, the US$150,000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Lucerne Open 2015 will be staged in one of Europe’s “great” destination spots for tourists.With a population of more ant 80,000 inhabitants, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of transportation, telecommunications, and government of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 cities and towns located in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people.
Due to its location on the shore of Lake Lucerne (der Vierwaldstättersee), within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a destination for tourists. One of the city's famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century.
Sitting on the north end of Lake Lucerne amid snowcapped mountains, Lucerne has a storybook image of a Swiss town featuring the colorful Altstadt (Old Town), the 14th-century Museggmauer city walls, covered bridges, and spired, turreted buildings.
Lucerne now joins Gstaad as Swiss sites on the 2015 FIVB World Tour. While Gstaad has been a regular stop on the FIVB World Tour since 2000 and host site for the FIVB World Championships in 2007, Lucerne’s only international events were European confederation events for four years (2005-2008).