Circular hike Landenberg

A few steps lead from Sarnen station to the village square of the main town. At the town hall, a witness to the centuries-old Swiss independence of the canton of Obwalden, the path turns south along the left bank of the Sarneraa river to the lake outlet. Here you cross the bridge and follow the lake briefly, then through the Goldmatt quarter to Kirchhofen, the oldest district of Sarnen. Here stands the baroque parish church with twin towers, built in the mid-18th century on the site of the first valley church already erected in the 8th century.

Instead of going to the church, the mountain path goes westwards along the Müligraben quite steeply uphill, crossing Schwanderstrasse into Breitholz and further uphill to the small bridge over the Müligraben at around 700 m above sea level. From there, it descends to the small village of Ramersberg, where the chapel at the most beautiful viewpoint over the Sarneraa valley invites you to pause briefly. From there, a small road leads to the Flue and merges into the oldest promenade in Sarnen, established in 1897 by the then Beautification Association, descending through the Eiwald forest to Schwanderstrasse.

A short ascent to Landenberg is worthwhile. At this historic site, the Lenzburgers built a castle in the 11th century, of which wall remains still bear witness. From 1646 to 1998, the people of Obwalden gathered here every last Sunday in April for the Landsgemeinde. From the mid-18th century come the old shooting house – a symbol of Sarnen – and the old armory, from whose surrounding wall there is a wide view over the market town of Sarnen with its historic buildings. The path back to the station from there is short.