| Sarnen | ||||||||||
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| Population | 9,971 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 131 /km2 (340 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 73.11 km2 (28.23 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 473 m (1,552 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 6060-6061 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 1407 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Werner Stauffer | |||||||||
| Localities | Sarnen-Dorfschaft, Kägiswil, Schwendi/Wilen and Ramersberg | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Alpnach, Entlebuch (LU), Flühli (LU), Giswil, Hasle (LU), Kerns, Sachseln | |||||||||
| Website | www.sarnen.ch SFSO statistics |
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Sarnen
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Map of Sarnen
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Sarnen is the capital of the canton of Obwalden situated on the shores of Lake Sarnen (Sarner See), Switzerland. It has a population of just under 10,000 and is surrounded by countryside and mountains. Sarnen is located 20 km south of Lucerne.
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Stone Age and Bronze Age finds show that the Sarnen valley was inhabited from the earliest times. Over the years Sarnen developed into an important trading center.
Sarnen is situated at an altitude of 473 m (1,552 ft) on the shore of the Lake Sarner (Sarner See). Lake Sarner covers approximately an area of 7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi). 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 with an elevation of 2,132 m (6,995 ft).
Sarnen has an area, as of 2006[update], of 73.1 square kilometers (28.2 sq mi). Of this area, 40% is used for agricultural purposes, while 50.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3]
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).[4]
Sarnen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 9,971.[1] As of 2007[update], 12.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[5] Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (91.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.6%) and Albanian being third ( 1.6%).[3] As of 2000[update] the gender distribution of the population was 49.9% male and 50.1% female. As of 2000[update] there are 3,452 households in Sarnen.[5]
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 (12.6%).[3]
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. 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).[3]
Sarnen has an unemployment rate of 1.16%. As of 2005[update], there were 465 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 182 businesses involved in this sector. 1,854 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 119 businesses in this sector. 3,649 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 451 businesses in this sector.[3]
As of 2008[update], the religious membership of the municipality was; 7,403 or 74.7% are Roman Catholic, while 779 or 7.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. 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.[5]
The historical population is given in the following table:[4]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1945 | 5,723 |
| 1955 | 6,336 |
| 1965 | 6,686 |
| 1975 | 7,015 |
| 1985 | 7,956 |
| 1995 | 8,858 |
| 2000 | 9,218 |
| 2005 | 9,472 |
| 2006 | 9,512 |
| 2007 | 9,617 |
| 2008 | 9,798 |
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 Sarna Polymer Holding (waterproofing systems for the construction industry), Leister Technologies (heated-air tools) and Nahrin AG (healthy nutrition).
The motorway A8 passes by Sarnen.
Sarnen lies on the Lucerne—Interlaken line, 23 minutes from Lucerne and 90 minutes from Interlaken. The rail station is situated in the center of the town and serves all major Swiss cities and several international destinations. Trains are operated by Swiss Federal Railways.
Switzerland has three major international airports Geneva airport, Zurich airport and Basel airport. Both Basel and Zurich airports lie nearer to Sarnen than Geneva.
By road it takes approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from both airports. The distance in kilometres from Basel and Zurich airport are approximately 125 and 90 respectively.
Geneva and Zurich airports have built-in railway station. The journey from Zurich takes either 1 h 30 min or 1 h 55 min depending on train connections.
Sarnen has an average of 139.3 days of rain per year and on average receives 1,200 mm (47 in) of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Sarnen receives an average of 162 mm (6.4 in) 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 147 mm (5.8 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year is January with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 13.6 days.[6]
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