Giswil

Giswil is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland.

History

Giswil is first mentioned in the 11th Century as Kisevilare.

Geography

The municipality is located on the southern end of Lake Sarnen. It consists of the village sections of Grossteil, Kleinteil, Rudenz and Diechtersmatt, as well as scattered farm houses and hamlets. To the south-west, the municipality rises up to the summits of the Giswilerstock, Brienzer Rothorn, Arnihaaggen and Höch Gumme. The Glaubenbielen Pass crosses to Sörenberg in the Entlebuch region of the canton of Lucerne.

Giswil has an area, as of 2006, of 85.9 square kilometers (33.2 sq mi). Of this area, 35.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 53.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (8.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Demographics

Giswil has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 3,558.As of 2007, 8.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. After a period of poverty and emigration in the late 19th century, where the population stagnated at about 1600 persons, the population increased quite continuously in the 20th century. Over the past 40 years the population has increased by 38%, mainly because economic conditions in the region and public transport to Luzern have improved so that the migration balance definitely changed its sense towards immigration. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (95.5%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.0%) and Portuguese being third ( 0.8%).As of 2000 the gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. As of 2000 there are 1,250 households in Giswil.