Kerns
Municipality in the canton of Obwalden · FSO no. 1404
Parcel data from Nov 2026, statistics computed on 29 Oct 2026.
Open map at the Kerns centerThe parcel data lists 2’595 parcels in Kerns, covering 92.6 km². 68.8% of them have at least one registered building. The median parcel measures 1’183 m².
Key figures
- Parcels
- 2’595
- 15% of the canton
- Total area
- 92.6 km²
- 18.9% of the canton
- Median area
- 1’183 m²
- Canton: 1’006 m²
- Switzerland: 881 m²
- Built share
- 68.8%
- Canton: 67.5%
- Switzerland: 51%
- Median year built
- 1986
- Canton: 1979
- Switzerland: 1975
About Kerns
Kerns ranks 2nd of 7 municipalities in the canton of Obwalden by number of parcels and holds 15% of the canton's parcels on 18.9% of its area. The median parcel in Kerns measures 1’183 m², larger than the canton median of 1’006 m². Kerns is about as built-up as the canton as a whole: 68.8% of its parcels have a building, against 67.5% across the canton.
The zones with the most parcels are Landwirtschaftszone (34.6%), Zweigeschossige Wohnzone (16.3%) and Wald (9.7%). In total, Kerns uses 28 zone designations.
According to the building register, Kerns has 3’252 buildings with 3’568 dwellings, 1.1 dwellings per building on average. Residential buildings mix single-family houses and buildings with several dwellings: single-family houses make up 41.1% of them. Non-residential buildings account for 53.4% of all buildings.
Built parcels most often have their newest building from 1981 to 2000 (27.3% of them), and 27.8% have one from 2001 or later. The median year built, 1986, is more recent than in the canton as a whole (1979).
Built and unbuilt parcels
Built: 1’785 (68.8%)
Unbuilt: 810 (31.2%)
Parcels by zone
| Zone | Parcels | Area | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landwirtschaftszone | 897 | 16.93 km² | 68.3% |
| Zweigeschossige Wohnzone | 422 | 0.28 km² | 92.9% |
| Wald | 252 | 23.64 km² | 11.5% |
| Dreigeschossige Wohnzone | 160 | 0.14 km² | 88.1% |
| Alpwirtschaftszone | 148 | 42.03 km² | 68.9% |
| Dreigeschossige Wohn- und Gewerbezone | 143 | 0.14 km² | 89.5% |
| Dorfkernzone | 136 | 0.09 km² | 86.8% |
| Zweigeschossige Wohnzone in empfindlicher Lage | 85 | 0.07 km² | 91.8% |
| Verkehrszone | 63 | 0.06 km² | 1.6% |
| Verkehrsfläche | 47 | 0.33 km² | 2.1% |
| Zone St. Niklausen | 42 | 0.04 km² | 90.5% |
| Zweigeschossige Ferienhauszone | 33 | 0.01 km² | 93.9% |
| Other zones (16 labels) | 167 | 8.86 km² | 67.7% |
Zone names are the municipal designations. A canton lists each wording separately.
Building stock
The building register lists 3’252 buildings with 3’568 dwellings here; 539 of them are single-family houses.
- Buildings
- 3’252
- Dwellings
- 3’568
- Single-family houses
- 539
- Building volume
- 3.4 million m³
Buildings by category
Construction periods
Built parcels by construction period of their newest building
Maps and geodata for Kerns
geopool works as a GIS and geoportal for Kerns. 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.