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| Canton of Obwalden | |
| Capital | Sarnen |
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| Residents | 37.841 (2018) |
| surface | 490.58 km² |
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The Canton of Obwalden lies in the Central Switzerland; since Unterwalden is one of the three founding cantons of the Confederation, it is also from the Original Switzerland the speech. As a "half canton", Obwalden has only one National Council in the large and only one Council of States (instead of the usual two) in the small Chamber of Parliament; together with the sibling - half canton Nidwalden is shared by Unterwalden the speech.
The canton of Obwalden roughly covers the catchment area of the Sarner Aa to where it flows into the Alpnachersee, which is only accessible through a narrow point from the southwestern foothills of the Lake Lucerne Cut. In the north runs the border to Canton lucerne on the ridges of the Emmental Alps, that's behind it EntlebuchIn the south forms the valley of the Brünig Pass the limit to Canton Bern. In the east, Obwalden borders the other half-canton Nidwalden, the community Engelberg is separated from the rest of the canton by the Nidwalden area and forms an exclave, sandwiched between the area of Nidwalden and Uri.
The canton of Obwalden is characterized by the contrasts between the mountains, the Unterwaldner Voralpen, and the plain of the Sarner Aa with several lakes.
Regions
- Main area of the canton in the Sarner Aa valley and the side valley Melchtal
- Exclave with the territory of the municipality Engelberg
places
- Sarnen, the main town
- Alpnach at the Alpnachersee
- Engelberg, an exclave surrounded by the canton of Nidwalden
- Giswil
- Kerns
- Lounging, the top place on Brünig Pass
- Sachseln, in the district Flüeli-Ranft Niklaus von Flüe's house and hermitage
Other goals
background
In the area of Unterwalden the first traces of settlement and burial sites from the Bronze Age were found, the region was from the 3rd century. Settled by Celts and later Romans, the Alemanni immigrated and mainly settled in the valley floor around the lakes. The Gallo-Roman inhabitants stayed on the heights of the Pilatus, the Sachsler Berg and the Melchtal. In the 11th century the castle was built on the Landenberg, the lords of Lenzburg and the Zähringer, but also the monasteries St. Leodegar and Beromünster expanded their influence, but also supported the clearing and reclamation of the land.
Since the residents of Sarnen had supported Friedrich II and rebelled against Rudolf von Habsburg, they were together with those of Schwyz Excommunicated in 1247 by a papal nErlas. The Habsburgs transferred their fiefs in the region to their followers. In 1309 the valley community received the imperial immediacy through the freedom letters of King Henry VII and in 1315 they joined lantlüte and eidgenoze von Unterwalden in an alliance with Uri and Schwyz together and thus belonged to the original cantons of the Swiss Confederation. The landscape increasingly freed itself from the influence of the Habsburgs, large farmers came to the fore of corporations and six parishes were founded; from 1373 the Landamman was elected in open hands at the Landsgemeinder.
The Obwalden, who lived in the area "above the (core) forest", always claimed two thirds of the decisions in political matters and, in two out of three years, provided the representative at the Federal Diet, the assembly of the federal government. At the beginning of the 15th century stretched Obwalden together with the Urners the influence along the axes of Brünig Pass - Grimsel Pass - Griespass and Gotthard Pass south and brought the Leventina to Bellinzona and the Val d'Ossola south of the Alps under their control. After a peace treaty with Milan In 1426 the Obwalden were able to consolidate their position.
With the introduction of the Reformation in Zurich, the Obwalden people clearly stated in the Baden disputation that they should stick to the old faith and Catholicism has shaped the canton as well as the rest of Central Switzerland to this day. For a long time, the canton remained dominated by agriculture. Muleers transported (Sbrinz) cheese and cattle to northern Italy and brought grain and wine with them on the way back, they also transported salt to the Simmental, and ore was mined for a short time. The mercenary system was also important, Obwalden served mainly in the troops of Catholic lords and brought the officers' families a high social position and wealth.
The hermit brother Niklaus von Flüe in Ranft was almost venerated as a saint during his lifetime and is today the pandas patron of Switzerland, a chapel was built on his grave, which is still often visited today. In 1615 the Benedictine convent of St. Andreas was moved from Engelberg to Sarnen; Because of Nidwalden's restorative policy, Engelberg Monastery joined Obwalden in 1815 and henceforth formed an exclave in the canton.
In 1798 the French Revolution was carried over to Switzerland and the Helvetic Republic was established under French occupation. Obwalden ended up in the short-lived canton of Waldstätte. With the mediation act of 1803, the "Ancien Régime" and thus also the canton were restored, but Obwalden had to forego its two-thirds advantage over Nidwalden. In 1814 Obwalden received the first cantonal constitution, the federal constitution of the Swiss Confederation as a nation-state in 1848 was rejected by Obwalden with a large majority and the changes were only introduced reluctantly. Even after the introduction of women's suffrage in 1972, the Landsgemeinde remained the supreme legislature until it was abolished in 1998.
Obwalden remained dominated by agriculture and compared to the rest of the Confederation had only a low population growth; in the second half of the 19th century. Tourism developed in Engelberg, with the construction of the railways over the Brünig (1888), the Pilatus (1889) and the Stanserhorn (1893) and 1898 the railway to follow Engelberg tourism has grown in importance. In Engelberg, Melchsee-Frutt and Lounging ski lifts were built and formed the basis for winter tourism.
language
The official language in Obwalden is German, Obwaldnerdyytsch is spoken, a dialect of the highest Stable that is not always easy to understand by strangers.
getting there
In the street
From the Gotthard motorway 
becomes the Sarnertal over the junction 
Hergiswil-Süd / Lopper junction reached; the Lopper tunnel passes under the rock outcrop of the Lopper, around which the main road is 
had to wind around on the lakeshore, directly and the road reached as a motorway 
Alpnachstad at the Alpnachsee and continues to Sarnen. The motorway ends at Lake Sarnen and the route is called Brünigstrasse 
on the Brünig Pass guided. The expansion to a motorway connection is planned.
Canton roads lead into Melchtal and over Stans in the canton of Nidwalden Engelberg.
By train
With the Brünigbahn built in 1886/88 over the Brünig Pass is the canton with Lucerne and Brienz connected in the Bernese Oberland; In 2004, the only narrow-gauge and rack-and-pinion railway line operated by SBB to the Zentralbahn In Lucerne, one changes from the standard gauge network of the SBB to the meter gauge Brünigbahn; above Lounging one reaches Meiringen in Haslital, after changing direction, the route then continues to in Interlaken East there is again a connection to the SBB standard gauge network.
The Luzern-Stans-Engelbergbahn also runs from Lucerne to Hergiswil and then branches off to over Stans to Engelberg to get. This meter-gauge rack-and-pinion railway was also included in the 2005 Zentralbahn received.
mobility
In addition to the railway connections described, the yellow Postbuses also connect the smaller towns with the transfer stations.
Tourist Attractions
- 1 Upper Ranft chapel, hermitage: Lived in Flüeli-Ranft from 1417 to 1487 Niklaus von Flüewho decided to be a hermit as a farmer, councilor and officer in the Old Zurich War. On a pilgrimage in the Windental above Liestal BL, he had a vision, returned and built a hermitage in the nearby Ranft Gorge. He lived there until his death and was respected as a prayer, but also as a godly advisor in the area and politics and became the national patron saint of Switzerland, since his canonization in 1947 the place of his work and the burial place in Flüeli-Ranft continue to be of Visited pilgrims.
- the 2 Parish Church of St. Theodul in Sachseln with the burial chapel of Niklaus von Flüe
- the 3 Landenberg stuff and rifle house in Sarnen, the Landsgemeinde of Obwalden was also held here.
- the so-called 4 Witch tower in Sarnenwhich was used as an archive tower.
In Engelberg
- the 5 Engelberg Monastery
- the 6 Grafenort manor house and the chapel
activities
- Excursion with the 1 Pilatusbahn of Alpnachstad on the Pilate
- drive from Stans off with the 2 Stanserhornbahn onto 7 Stanserhorn, although this is on the border between Nidwalden and Obwalden, the view of the canton is worth the trip.
- Excursion from Engelberg on the 8 Titlis (3,062 m above sea level), on the border with the canton Uri
kitchen
- Bätziwasser is a clear schnapps made from dried apple wedges with an alcohol content of 40% vol., which is mainly produced and consumed in the canton of Obwalden.
- The Sbrinz is a hard cheese that is one of the oldest types of cheese in Europe. It is made by hand using traditional methods in copper kettles in the cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden.
nightlife
Night owls find around Lucerne the best deal.
security
climate
The canton has a pre-alpine - alpine climate; if it is often mild at the lakes, the onset of winter must be expected between October and April and appropriate winter equipment must be carried in the car.
