Canton of Obwalden
Canton · 7 municipalities with parcel data
Parcel data from Nov 2026, statistics computed on 29 Oct 2026.
The parcel data lists 17’323 parcels in the canton of Obwalden, covering 491.2 km². 67.5% of them have at least one registered building. The median parcel measures 1’006 m².
Key figures
- Parcels
- 17’323
- 0.4% of Switzerland
- Total area
- 491.2 km²
- 1.3% of Switzerland
- Median area
- 1’006 m²
- Switzerland: 881 m²
- Built share
- 67.5%
- Switzerland: 51%
- Median year built
- 1979
- Switzerland: 1975
About the canton of Obwalden
The canton of Obwalden ranks 23rd of the 25 cantons with largely complete parcel data by number of parcels and 18th by total parcel area. Of its 7 municipalities with parcel data, Sarnen (4’001), Kerns (2’595) and Engelberg (2’435) have the most parcels, which together hold 52.1% of the canton's parcels.
The median parcel in the canton measures 1’006 m², about the same as the Swiss median of 881 m². The canton is more built-up than Switzerland as a whole: 67.5% of its parcels have a building, against 51% nationwide. Among its municipalities with at least 500 parcels, Engelberg has the highest share of built parcels (71%) and Lungern the lowest (58.5%). Giswil has the largest median parcel (1’489 m²) and Engelberg the smallest (691 m²).
According to the building register, a building in the canton holds 1.2 dwellings on average, against 1.5 across Switzerland. Residential buildings mix single-family houses and buildings with several dwellings: single-family houses make up 49.5% of them, against 63.6% across Switzerland. Non-residential buildings account for 47.5% of all buildings.
Built parcels most often have their newest building from 1981 to 2000 (22.5% of them), and 23.3% have one from 2001 or later. The median year built, 1979, is close to that of Switzerland as a whole (1975).
Built and unbuilt parcels
Built: 11’690 (67.5%)
Unbuilt: 5’633 (32.5%)
Parcels by zone
| Zone | Parcels | Area | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landwirtschaftszone | 5’832 | 81.51 km² | 65.1% |
| Wald | 1’528 | 180.72 km² | 17.8% |
| Zweigeschossige Wohnzone B | 1’339 | 1.08 km² | 86.1% |
| Zweigeschossige Wohnzone A | 1’146 | 0.71 km² | 88.2% |
| Dreigeschossige Wohnzone | 437 | 0.39 km² | 88.6% |
| Zweigeschossige Wohnzone | 422 | 0.28 km² | 92.9% |
| Übriges Gebiet | 418 | 50.39 km² | 10.8% |
| Dorfzone | 348 | 0.19 km² | 86.2% |
| Wohnzone 2-Geschosse | 346 | 0.23 km² | 86.1% |
| Alpwirtschaftszone | 342 | 149.60 km² | 66.1% |
| Wohnzone 2 Geschosse | 253 | 0.20 km² | 90.1% |
| Wohnzone 2-3 Geschosse | 242 | 0.20 km² | 88.8% |
| Other zones (118 labels) | 4’670 | 25.67 km² | 72.1% |
Zone names are the municipal designations. A canton lists each wording separately.
Building stock
The building register lists 20’101 buildings with 23’227 dwellings here; 4’400 of them are single-family houses.
- Buildings
- 20’101
- Dwellings
- 23’227
- Single-family houses
- 4’400
- Building volume
- 21.1 million m³
Buildings by category
Construction periods
Built parcels by construction period of their newest building
Maps and geodata for the canton of Obwalden
geopool works as a GIS and geoportal for the canton of Obwalden. Its parcel map shows the parcels of the official cadastral survey with their area, their zone from the municipal zoning plan and their buildings, on swisstopo maps. Building zones, the property map and the geodata of each parcel open on the geopool map. The ÖREB extract of a parcel (public-law restrictions on landownership) is in lookup.