Sarnen

Sarnen is a small historic town and a municipality, and it is the capital of the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It lies at an altitude of 471 metres on the northern shore of Lake Sarnen, along the outflow of the Sarner Aa, about 20 kilometres south of Lucerne. The town is surrounded by mountain chains, and the best-known mountain close by is Mount Pilatus at 2,132 metres. Stone Age and Bronze Age finds show that the Sarnen valley was inhabited from the earliest times, and over the years the town developed into an important trading centre. The municipality covers about 73 square kilometres, around half of it forest, and had about 10,500 inhabitants at the end of 2020, most of them German speakers.