Sarnen Attractions
Half-canton: Obwalden (OW)
Sarnen, capital of the half-canton of Obwalden, lies at the north end of the Sarner See, on the road from Lucerne to Interlaken over the Brünig pass. The Landsgemeinde, the communal assembly, meets on the Landenberg here on the last Sunday in April.
Sarnen, capital of the half-canton of Obwalden, lies at the north end of the Sarner See, on the road from Lucerne to Interlaken over the Brünig pass. The Landsgemeinde, the communal assembly, meets on the Landenberg here on the last Sunday in April.
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Drive to Schwendi-Kaltbad
A beautiful road from Sarnen 11km/7mi long leads up the hillside (known as Schwendi) above the lake, reaching Stalden (797 m/2,615ft), a small health resort, after 3km/2mi. The road continues through the hamlet of Gassen and over the Alpine meadows on the Schwendiberg; then road on right to (8km/5mi) Schwendi-Kaltbad (1,445 m/4,741ft), with an iron-bearing spring. Beyond the turning for Schwendi the road goes on into the Entlebuch valley.
Local Museum
At the north end of Sarnen is the Heimatmuseum (local museum) which surveys the cultural history of the canton of Oberwalden. The collection includes prehistoric and early material, some from the Roman settlement of Alpnach, weapons, religious art of the 14th-18th C. (wooden statues, altars, liturgical items), pictures and sculpture by local artists from the 17th- 20th C., furniture, coins, agricultural implements and a reconstructed alpine hut.
Riflemen's Clubhouse
To the west of Sarnen's St Peter's Church, on the Landenberg, is the Baroque Schützenhaus (Riflemen's Clubhouse, 1752) and nearby an armory.
St Peter's Church
On a hill to the southeast of Sarnen's local museum stands the twin-towered Baroque parish church of St Peter (by the Singer brothers, 1739-42). It occupies the site of a earlier Romanesque building first mentioned in 1036. The interior contains rich stucco work.
The painted carving (1507) in the neighboring charnel house (ca. 1500) is the work of Peter Tischmacher from Uri.
The painted carving (1507) in the neighboring charnel house (ca. 1500) is the work of Peter Tischmacher from Uri.
Town Hall
In the Sarnen Town Hall (Rathaus, 1729-32) is kept the "White Book" (Weisses Buch), containing the earliest account (ca. 1470) of the history of the Confederation.
The neighboring church of St Andreas dates from the 17th-18th C.
The neighboring church of St Andreas dates from the 17th-18th C.
Wilen (outlying district)
2.5km/2miles southwest of Sarnen, on the sunny western shore of the Sarner See, lies the attractive outlying district of Wilen, from which a road follows the lake via Oberwilen to Giswil.
