Monte Brè

Views of Monte Bre and Bre (right), below the Lake of Lugano

The Monte Bre (925 m above sea level. M. ) is a scenic mountain east of Lugano, on the flank of Mount Boglia ( 1'516 m above sea level. M. ) overlooking the bay of Lugano and the Valais and Bernese Alps. He is regarded as one of the sunniest areas of Switzerland. After SOIUSA he belongs to the Alps Lake within the larger section Lugano Prealps.

Nature and Geography

The area around Monte Bre is largely forested ( oak, beech, birch, chestnut ); the chestnuts were used economically until the 1950s. In the woods alive Dam and wild boar, badger and fox. Among the protected plant the Christmas Rose ( Elecampane a - kind, Inula spiraeifolia ) is endemic.

On the southern slope of the villas districts in Lugano ( Aldesago, Ruvigliana, Cassarate ) we find the Mediterranean vegetation (pines, cypresses, palms, acacia, oleander, olive and pomegranate trees), whose flourishing by the mild sunny climate of Ticino, which is also in higher altitudes in winter rarely knows Frost, is made possible.

North of Monte Bre is Pastureland covers (Alpe Bolla, 1,129 m) around the area of Monte Boglia.

Infrastructure

Since 1912, a funicular railway from Lugano - Cassarate via the intermediate station Suvigliana to Monte Bre.

Around the summit a branched network of hiking trails of varying difficulty is removed. Classified as easy are the stairs down on the Bre and the villas neighborhoods on the southern slope of the mountain to Lugano ( about 2 hours, about 600 meters height difference). This road runs partly parallel to the carriage road ( 7 km) between Bre and Cassarate, sometimes he shortens their loops.

As a medium and heavy marks are the mountain trails to the north to Mount Boglia and continue to Sasso Grande ( 1'491 m) and the mountain hut Capanna Pairolo ( 1,344 m), as is the descent from Bre a natural history and archaeological path to Gandria on Lake Lugano.

At the summit there is a lookout tower and a Lady Chapel ( new from 1913 with Madonna statue ), whose predecessor had been demolished on a plateau about 100 m below the summit in the construction of the first hotel restaurants in 1913.

More restaurants next to the hotel restaurant, there are now at the top station of the funicular railway, in Bre and in the hiking area north of Monte Bre; here they have the character typical local grottos, ie rustic trattorias outdoor serving regional cuisine.

Bre

On the east side of Monte Bre is located at 800 m height of the Lugano district Bre, with about 300 inhabitants. A bus connects the Bre with the center of Lugano.

Architecturally, the Bre has preserved the character of a typical Ticino village. Also the Lavatoio, former washhouse is still preserved. In the traditional village center you will find a way of art with works by established artists.

The Wilhelm Schmid Museum was once occupied by the same painter and now contains a significant collection of his works. Schmid applies only Swiss representative of the Nordic Magic Realism.