, neighboring_municipalities=
Alpnach
Alpnach is a village in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It comprises the villages of Alpnach Dorf, Alpnachstad and Schoried.
History
Alpnach is first mentioned about 870 as ''Alpenacho''.
Geography
Alpnach has an area, , of . Of this are ...
,
Entlebuch
Entlebuch is a municipality in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district of Entlebuch. The area has been designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2001.
History
Entlebuch is first mentioned in 1157, as ''Entilibuoch' ...
(LU),
Flühli
Flühli is a municipality in the district of Entlebuch in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. The municipality consists of the villages of Flühli and Sörenberg, which form independent parishes. Flühli is part of the UNESCO Entlebuch Biosp ...
(LU),
Giswil
Giswil is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland.
History
Giswil is first mentioned in the 11th century, as ''Kisevilare''.
Geography
The municipality is located on the southern end of Lake Sarnen. It consists of the villag ...
,
Hasle (LU),
Kerns
Kerns may refer to:
* Plural of Kern
* Kerns (surname)
* Kerns, Ontario, Canada
* Kerns, Portland, Oregon, United States
* Kerns, Switzerland, a village and municipality
See also
*
* Kernstown, Virginia, United States
** Battle of Kernsto ...
,
Sachseln
Sachseln is a village and municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Besides the village of Sachseln, the municipality includes the hamlets of Edisried, Ewil and Flüeli-Ranft.
History
Sachseln is first mentioned in 1173 as ''Saxhslen ...
, twintowns =
Sarnen is a small
historic town, a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, and the capital of the
canton of Obwalden
Obwalden, also Obwald (german: Kanton Obwalden, rm, Chantun Sursilvania; french: Canton d'Obwald; it, Canton Obvaldo), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the gover ...
situated on the northern shores of
Lake Sarnen
Lake Sarnen (German: ''Sarnersee'') is a lake in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. The lake is on the Sarner Aa, which flows out of the Lake Lungern, through the Lake Sarnen, and into Lake Lucerne. The municipalities of Sarnen and Sachseln are located ...
(german: Sarnersee) in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It has a population of just over 10,000 and is surrounded by countryside and mountains. Sarnen is located 20 km south of
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
.
The official language of Sarnen is (the Swiss variety of Standard)
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the
Alemannic Alemannic (''Alamannic'') or Alamanni may refer to:
* Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers
* Alemanni, a confederation of Suebian Germanic tribes in the Roman period
* Alamanni (surna ...
Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
dialect.
History
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
and
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
finds show that the Sarnen valley was inhabited from the earliest times. Over the years Sarnen developed into an important trading center.
Geography
![5967 - Brienz - View from Rothorn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/5967_-_Brienz_-_View_from_Rothorn.JPG)
Sarnen is situated at an altitude of on the northern shore of Lake Sarnen (german: Sarnersee) along the outflow of the
Sarner Aa
The Sarner Aa is a long river in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It drains the area to the eastern side of the Brünig Pass, flowing through the Lake Lungern, Lake Sarnen and the Wichelsee, before entering Lake Lucerne near Alpnach. It goes by s ...
. Lake Sarnen covers approximately an area of . The town is surrounded by mountain chains and a protected
bog can be found nearby. The most well-known mountain close to Sarnen is
Mount Pilatus
Pilatus, also often referred to as Mount Pilatus, is a mountain massif overlooking Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It is composed of several peaks, of which the highest () is named ''Tomlishorn''.
Geography and transport
The whole mountain ...
with an elevation of .
Sarnen has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 39.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 50.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 4.3% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of or about 3.6% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of over the 1980/81 amount. Of the agricultural land, is used for orchards and vineyards, is fields and grasslands and consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1980/81 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by . Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by . Rivers and lakes cover in the municipality.
[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Regional portraits]
accessed 27 October 2016
The municipality is made up of 5 sections; Sarnen (population 5,984), Stalden (pop. 1,072), Wilen (pop. 1,234), Kägiswil (pop. 1,214) and Ramersberg (pop. 294).
[
]
Demographics
Sarnen has a population () of . , 14.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 4 years (2010-2014) the population has changed at a rate of 2.62%. The birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
in the municipality, in 2014, was 9.2, while the death rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...
was 6.6 per thousand residents.[
Most of the population () speaks German (91.0%), with Italian being second most common (1.6%) and Albanian being third (1.6%).][Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 3 September 2009 the gender distribution of the population was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 62.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.7%.[ In 2015 there were 4,418 single residents, 4,619 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 519 widows or widowers and 673 divorced residents.
there are 3,452 households in Sarnen.][Canton Obwalden Statistics]
accessed 2 September 2009 In 2014 there were 4,338 private households in Sarnen with an average household size of 2.32 persons. Of the 1,957 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 47.6% were single family homes and 26.7% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 24.4% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 14.9% were built between 1991 and 2000.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Thema 09 - Bau- und Wohnungswesen ]
accessed 5 May 2016 In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 5.75. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.18%.[
]
Historic population
The historical population is given in the following table:[Sarnen in Numbers]
accessed 3 September 2009
Heritage sites of national significance
Sarnen is home to 10 sites that are Swiss heritage sites of national significance. These include three religious buildings; the Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
of St. Michael, the parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of St. Peter and Paul, the Church of St. Martin. Two houses and a tower, the double house ''am Grund'' and ''Grundacher'' and the Hexenturm are on the list. The remainder of the list contains the Cantonal Rathaus, the musical collection of the ''Frauenkloster'', the Landenberg
Landenberg was a noble family in medieval Switzerland.
History
By the beginning 14th century, they were the most powerful family of eastern Switzerland, separating into four lines, Alt-Landenberg, Landenberg-Greifensee, Hohenlandenberg and Br ...
armory and the State Archives of Obwalden. The entire small city of Sarnen, the hamlet of Ramersberg and the Kirchhofen area are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.
Sites of national importance
Types
The types are based on t ...
.
File:Beinhaus_St_Michael_Sarnen_Jun_2012.jpg, Ossuary of St. Michael
File:Old House in Sarnen.jpg, Double house ''am Grund''
File:Grundacher_Sarnen_Jun_2012.jpg, Double house ''Grundacher''
File:Sarnen-Hexenturm.jpg, Hexenturm
File:Sarnen-Pfarrkirche.jpg, Catholic parish church of St. Peter and Paul
File:Sarnen-Kollegiumskirche.jpg, Kollegiumskirche of St. Martin
File:Rathaus Sarnen.jpg, Rathaus of Obwalden
File:Frauenkloster_Sarnen_Jun_2012.jpg, The ''Frauenkloster''
File:Landenberg im Herbst.jpg, Landenberg Armory
File:Kantonale Verwaltung Obwalden.jpg, State Archives of Obwalden
Sarnen today
The town of Sarnen has been experiencing steady growth over the past years. It has become more attractive due to its proximity to Lucerne. Many commuters work in Lucerne and use the motorway or railway service to get to work.
Among companies active in Sarnen include SIKA AG
Sika AG is a Swiss multinational specialty chemical company that supplies to the building sector and motor vehicle industry, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. The company develops and produces systems and products for bonding, sealing, dampin ...
(Specialty Chemicals), Leister Technologies (heated-air tools) and Nahrin AG
Nahrin is a town in Baghlan Province in north-eastern Afghanistan.National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
It is the capital of Nahrin District.
See also
*Baghlan Province
References
External linksSatellite map at Maplandia.com
Populated ...
(healthy nutrition).
Economy
Sarnen is a small sized regional center.
, there were a total of 8,182 people employed in the municipality. Of these, 366 people worked in 144 businesses in the primary economic sector. The secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
employed 2,058 workers in 151 separate businesses. In 2014 a total of 1,176 employees worked in 146 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 4 mid sized businesses with 561 employees and 1 large business which employed 321 people. Finally, the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
provided 5,758 jobs in 987 businesses. There were 69 small businesses with a total of 1,746 employees, 10 mid sized businesses with a total of 963 employees and one large business with a total of 479 employees. In 2014 a total of 5.8% of the population received social assistance.[
In 2015 local hotels had a total of 57,837 overnight stays, of which 34.3% were international visitors.
]
Politics
In the 2015 federal election a small, local party received 65.6% of the vote, compared to 57.6% in 2011. The remainder of the vote (34.4%) went to the SVP, which received 42.4% in 2011. In the federal election, a total of 4,505 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
was 61.0%.
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 34.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (30%), the Other (22.7%) and the SPS
SPS may refer to:
Law and government
* Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO
* NATO Science for Peace and Security
* Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy
* The Standard Procurement System, fo ...
(12.6%).[
]
Education
In Sarnen about 68.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''Fachhochschule
A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...
'').[
]
Religion
, the religious membership of the municipality was; 7,403 or 74.7% are Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, while 779 or 7.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
. Of the rest of the population, there are 39 individuals (or about 0.39% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith. There are 1,687 individuals (or about 17.03% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census) or no church.[
]
Transportation
Road
The highway A8 passes by Sarnen.
Railway
Giswil is served by Sarnen station on the Brünig line, an inter-regional narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
from Interlaken
, neighboring_municipalities= Bönigen, Därligen, Matten bei Interlaken, Ringgenberg, Unterseen
, twintowns = Scottsdale (USA), Ōtsu (Japan), Třeboň (Czech Republic)
Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and mun ...
to Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
. The hourly InterRegio train between Interlaken and Lucerne stops at the station, as does the half-hourly Lucerne S-Bahn
The Lucerne S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Luzern) is an S-Bahn-style commuter rail network focusing on Lucerne, Switzerland.
Opened on 12 December 2004, the network forms part of the Central Switzerland S-Bahn project (german: S-Bahn Zentralschweiz, link ...
S5 service between Giswil
Giswil is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland.
History
Giswil is first mentioned in the 11th century, as ''Kisevilare''.
Geography
The municipality is located on the southern end of Lake Sarnen. It consists of the villag ...
and Lucerne.
Airplane
Switzerland has three major international airports: Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, Zurich and Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. Both Basel (at 125 km) and Zurich (90 km) airports are closer to Sarnen than Geneva airport (260 km). The journey from either airport by road takes from about 1 h to 1 hour 20 minutes.
Geneva and Zurich airports have built-in railway stations. The journey from Zurich takes between 1 h 30 min and 1 h 55 min depending on train connections.
Weather
Sarnen has an average of 139.3 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. The wettest month is August during which time Sarnen receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.6 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 14.6, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is January with an average of of precipitation over 13.6 days.[, the weather station elevation is 475 meters above sea level.]
Crime
In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code
, french: Code pénal suisse (CP), it, Codice penale svizzero (CP), rm, Cudesch penal svizzer
, citation =
, territorial_extent = Switzerland
, enacted_by = Federal Assembly of Switzerland
, date_enacted = 20 Decemb ...
(running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Sarnen was 65.6 per thousand residents, which is very close to the national rate of 64.6. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 4.9 per thousand residents. This rate is about half the national rate. The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 1.0 per thousand residents, or about 20.4% of the national rate.Statistical Atlas of Switzerland
accessed 5 April 2016
Notable people
* Nicholas of Flüe
Nicholas of Flüe (german: Niklaus von Flüe; 1417 – 21 March 1487) was a Swiss hermit and ascetic who is the patron saint of Switzerland. He is sometimes invoked as Brother Klaus. A farmer, military leader, member of the assembly, councillo ...
(1598 – 1649), theologian and abbot of Wettingen
* Herman Fanger (1895 in Sarnen – 1971) a Swiss-born American inventor of the coaxial speaker
* Hans Vollenweider (1908 – 1940 in Sarnen) a Swiss criminal, the last person to be sentenced to death by a civilian court in Switzerland, executed shortly after
* Franz Bucher
Franz Bucher (born 15 January 1940) is a Swiss artist. He has produced paintings, drawings, woodcuts, etchings, sculptural objects, reliefs, murals, and stained glass.
Biography
Early life and education
Franz Bucher was born in 1940 in Sarnen, ...
(born 1940 in Sarnen) a Swiss artist, produces paintings, drawings, woodcuts, etchings, sculptural objects, reliefs, murals and stained glass
* Daniel Vacek
Daniel Vacek (born 1 April 1971) is a former tennis player from Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic who turned professional in 1990. He reached the quarterfinals of the 1995 Paris Masters, the 1998 Canada Masters and the 1998 Cincinnati ...
(born 1971) a former tennis player from Czechoslovakia, represented his country at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, lives in Sarnen
* Jonas Omlin
Jonas Omlin (born 10 January 1994) is a Swiss professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Montpellier HSC, Montpellier and the Switzerland national football team, Swi ...
(born 1994 in Sarnen) a Swiss football goalkeeper, about 60 club caps
* Viola Calligaris
Viola Mónica Calligaris (born 17 March 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a right back for Spanish Liga F club Levante UD and the Switzerland national team.
Career Club
Calligaris began playing football at FC Giswil in O ...
(born 1996 in Sarnen) a Swiss footballer who plays as a midfielder
References
External links
Sarnen Official site
*
* Local companies:
*
Sarna Polymer Holding
*
Nahrin AG
{{Authority control
Cantonal capitals of Switzerland
Cities in Switzerland
Municipalities of Obwalden
Sarnen (capital)