No mountain in the long northern arc of the Alpine foothills shows such a marked upwards thrust as Mount Pilatus on Lake Lucerne. Its rock consists of cretaceous sediment and Tertiary deposits. The calcerous rocks of Mount Pilatus were formed in the sea which stretched between the Aare and the Gotthard massif. Mussel, oyster, ammonite, echinite and sea snail fossils today discovered in the Mount Pilatus rock provide valuable documentation and evidence of when and where the fairly dense cliffs and fine slate layers of the mountain were created.Vaults and dips are additional evidence of the shifting of the earth's crust which thrust up the one-time horizontal sea bed into these mighty folds. Such displaced layers are called plates. The entire Alpine chain from the Säntis to Lake Thun was thrust over the Aare massif into the full Molasse Sea and covered part of Switzerland. These rock folds were then known as the«Helvetic Plate». With its offshoots (Bürgenstock, Rigihochfluhkette), Mount Pilatus is part of the front of this plate. On the eastern flank of Mount Pilatus, towards Lucerne, the profile of Lucerne's "own" mountain reveals five folds (see illustration), all of which incline to the north.The geological development of the rock on  Mount Pilatus displays the characteristic features of erosion and weathering which make the mountain the landmark of Central Switzerland. When Richard Wagner reached the Mount Pilatus summit in 1859, he was overwhelmed by the breathtaking views over Central Switzerland. Since then, the experience of the famous composer of «The Ring of the Nibelungs» has been shared by millions of tourists from all over the world, including England's Queen Victoria (on horseback ), King Don Carlos of Spain and Antarctic explorer Lincoln Ellsworth. All have marvelled at the imposing Alpine panorama from Mount Pilatus.

Myths

Since time immemorial, the rugged cliffs above Lucerne have been enveloped in mysterious myths and legends. in the Middle Ages, people believed that a dragon with healing powers and spirits inhabited the rocky crevices. It was said that the restless ghost of Roman governor once found lasting peace in Lake Pilatus. And so for a long time it was forbidden to climb the mountain - for woe betide any one who disturbed Pontius Pilate!