Engelberg

Engelberg (lit.: mountain of angel(s)) is a village resort and a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality encompasses additional settlements, including Grafenort, Oberberg and Schwand.
The municipality of Engelberg is an exclave, entirely encircled by the neighboring cantons of Bern, Nidwalden and Uri.
Engelberg is a mountain resort in Central Switzerland. In the Middle Ages, the area garnered recognition for its Benedictine monastery, known as Engelberg Abbey. As time progressed, particularly from the 19th century onwards, Engelberg became a well-known mountain resort. The city of Lucerne serves as the nearest major urban center.
While the official language of Engelberg is Swiss German, the predominant spoken language is the local variation of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.
History
Engelberg's earliest mention dates to 1122, denoted as Engilperc, concurrent with the founding of the Abbey. Prior to this, the Alpine pasture of Trüebsee was already collectively utilized by the locals.
In August 1815, as Nidwalden hesitated in accepting the Federal Treaty, Engelberg promptly expressed its support. Federal troops entered Nidwalden, ultimately prompting their acceptance of the treaty on 18 August 1815. Consequently, Engelberg was incorporated into the canton of Obwalden.
The mid-19th century ushered in Engelberg's emergence as a vacation destination, known for its therapeutic mineral water, milk serum and fresh air. The efforts of families such as Cattani, Hess, and Odermatt led to the establishment of a number of hotels, cementing the region's status as a tourist destination. Related developments included the construction of a broader road between 1872 and 1874, as well as the inauguration of the Stansstad-Engelberg electric railway in 1898.
Engelberg's reputation as a hub for hiking and other mountain activities grew toward the end of the 19th century. The winter season made its debut in 1903-1904. The Gerschnialpbahn, a funicular railway (unveiled in 1913), connected Engelberg to Gerschni with a subsequent cable car (inaugurated in 1927) extending the journey to Ober Trüebsee. The pre-World War I era was characterized by robust growth, as indicated by a substantial influx of visitors (165,922 visitor-nights in 1911). The expansion of roadways and the extension of the railway to Lucerne (achieved in 1964) enhanced the accessibility of Engelberg. Further advancements were marked by the opening of the higher segment of the Titlis cable car in 1967. Over time, Engelberg's appeal extended beyond tourism, hosting regular conferences. By the turn of the millennium, the tertiary sector, particularly tourism, contributed significantly to employment in Engelberg.
Geography
Engelberg is situated within the Uri Alps mountain range.
Engelberg is surrounded by several mountain summits, such as Titlis in the south above sea level), the Walenstöcke and Ruchstock to the north, Hahnen and Wissberg to the east, the Engelberger Rotstock and the Wissigstock to the northeast, and the upper valley of the Engelberger Aa leading to the Surenen Pass leading to the Urner Reusstal.
Engelberg has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 27.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and 43.5% is unproductive land. In the 2013/18 survey a total of or about 1.9% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of over the 1980/81 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by and is now about 0.61% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, is fields and grasslands and consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1980/81 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by . Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by . Rivers and lakes cover in the municipality.
The average altitude of Engelberg is . However the village is surrounded by the Alps, creating very steep terrain. The highest point in the borders of the municipality is the Titlis. The Engelberg Valley is drained by the Engelberger Aa, a tributary of Lake Lucerne. The valley is located southwards from the lake.
Transport
The municipality of Engelberg is served by two stations on the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line. Engelberg railway station is located in the village and is the terminus of the line. Grafenort station is to the north, one station away. Both stations are served by hourly InterRegio trains from the city of Lucerne.
A free bus system provides daytime transport within the village, with a network of seven routes during the winter season (from December through to April) and a single route during the summer season (from April until October).
Drahtseilbahn Engelberg–Hotel Terrasse, a funicular from the village to Hotel Terrace operated from 1905 to 2008, with some interruptions. Gerschnialpbahn opened in 1913.
Tourism
The tourist activities in the village and surrounding area include skiing and other snow sports in the winter season, and hiking and mountain activities during the summer.
In the village itself the main sights are the Benedictine monastery Engelberg Abbey which incorporates a cheese factory and demonstration shop, the Talmuseum showing the history of the area and Swiss rural life, and a number of old chapels.
The winter sports season generally lasts from December until April, although the high altitude glacier areas on the Titlis can sometimes be used (by advanced skiers) from October until May. Snow coverage is generally reliable, although in recent years artificial snow machines have been installed on some of the lower altitude runs in order to improve snow cover.
Engelberg hosts a round of the ski jumping World Cup at the Gross-Titlis-Schanze jump.
In common with the rest of Switzerland, there is a village celebration for Swiss National Day on 1 August, with parades and events throughout the day.
On the last Saturday in September the Alpabzug takes place, when the cattle are brought from the mountain pastures back to their winter barns in the village and valley.
There are three main mountain areas, accessible from the village, offering various activities in winter and summer. The cable cars generally run all year round, providing access for hikers and mountain bikers as well as skiers.
Titlis
The Titlis in the south of Engelberg at above sea level is the highest summit of the range north of the Susten Pass, between the Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland.
The Titlis mountain massif is accessible by cable cars of the Titlis Bergbahnen. The cable car bottom station is also the central terminus of the village bus services. A funicular railway (dating from 1913) runs up to station Gerschnialp and a wide Alpine pasture called Gerschni, with easy snow areas suitable for beginners and cross country ski trails, and a toboggan run leading back down to the valley station. In the summer there are two cheese dairies, with walking trails leading up to Ober Trüebsee and back down to the village, or level trails leading to Unter Trüebsee to the west.
The "Titlis Xpress" gondola lift, opened in 2015 to replace an older one dating from the 1970s, runs from the valley station up to the middle station Trübsee and on to Stand. This area provides more challenging skiing, on the lower slopes of the Titlis and via further chair lifts to the Jochpass and below the Jochstock at . A continuous ski piste leads down to Unter Trüebsee and back to the cable car valley station. In summer the lake is a destination for walkers, with rowing boats available on the lake and picnic places around it. Walking routes lead over the Jochpass to Engstlenalp and Melchsee-Frutt, or directly from Engleberg over the Juchli Pass or Storegg Pass) into the Melchtal.
The "Rotair" cable car ("the world's first rotating cable car") runs up to the Kleintitlis mountain station where there is a restaurant and shops, an observation terrace and access to the glacier and summit. The high altitude glacier runs down from the peak are suitable for advanced skiers, with off-piste routes leading down to Trüebsee and the Laubersgrat ridge.
Brunni
The Brunni mountain area, to the north of the village, is accessible from the cable car station which runs up to Ristis, with a further chair lift up to Brunnihütte. The ski runs here are of a beginner to medium standard, although sometimes not having so much snow cover as the Titlis side due to the south facing aspect. There is another toboggan run from Brunnihütte back down to Ristis. In summer there are a number of walking trails starting from here, including the Walenpfad leading to Bannalp and the Rot Grätli ridge across the mountains to the north and northeast. There are also a number of prepared rock climbing routes.
Fürenalp
At the eastern end of the Engelberg valley, there is a cable car up to Fürenalp, passing over the Fürenwand rock climbing area. From the top station or from the valley, summer walking routes with views of the Chli Spannort and Gross Spannort mountain peaks lead to the Surenenpass in the east.
Heritage sites
Engelberg is home to three sites that are Swiss heritage sites of national significance; Engelberg Abbey with its library, archives and music collection, the mansion (Herrenhaus) in Grafenort and the Holy Cross chapel in Grafenort.
Demographics
The historical population is given in the following table:
Engelberg has a population of . , 26.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. In 2015 a small minority (259 or 6.3% of the population) was born in Germany. Over the last 6 years (2010-2016) the population has changed at a rate of 5.92%. The birth rate in the municipality, in 2016, was 8.3, while the death rate was 5.8 per thousand residents.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 61.4% of the population and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.9%. In 2015 there were 1,762 single residents, 1,808 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 230 widows or widowers and 297 divorced residents.
In 2016 there were 1,925 private households in Engelberg with an average household size of 2.10 persons. In 2015 about 43% of all buildings in the municipality were single family homes, which is about the same as the percentage in the canton (44.4%) and less than the percentage nationally (57.4%). Of the 1,302 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 48.5% were single family homes and 34.4% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 17.1% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 9.4% were built between 1991 and 2000. In 2015 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 8.3. The vacancy rate for the municipality was 0.92%.
Most of the population speaks German as their mother tongue (88.2%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (2.5%) and English being third (2.2%). the gender distribution of the population was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.
Politics
In the 2015 federal election small, local parties received 53.5% of the vote and the SVP received the remainder (46.5%). In the federal election, a total of 1,476 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 56.4%.
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 37.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were a variety of other parties (not major) (28.6%), the CVP (22.7%) and the SPS (11.3%).
Education
In Engelberg about 65.5% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Business and industry
Engelberg is classed as a tourist community.
, there were a total of 2,547 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 143 people worked in 56 businesses in the primary economic sector. The secondary sector employed 267 workers in 54 separate businesses, of which 6 businesses employed a total of 117 employees. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 2,137 jobs in 372 businesses.
In 2016 a total of 8.3% of the population received social assistance. In 2011 the unemployment rate in the municipality was 1.1%.
In 2015 local hotels had a total of 354,960 overnight stays, of which 67.1% were international visitors.
In 2015 the average cantonal, municipal and church tax rate in the municipality for a couple with two children making was 5.5% while the rate for a single person making was 11.1%, both of which are much lower than the average for the canton. The canton has a slightly higher than average tax rate for those making and one of the lowest for those making . In 2013 the average income in the municipality per tax payer was and the per person average was , which is greater than the cantonal averages of and respectively It is also greater than the national per tax payer average of and the per person average of .
Due to the risks of filming in the disputed region of Kashmir, many Indian films requiring a Kashmir snowy mountain setting have been filmed in Engelberg in the recent past.
Cultural references
Engelberg is mentioned in chapter XXIV of Henry James's 1875 novel Roderick Hudson.
Climate
Between 1991 and 2020 Engelberg had an average of 151 days of rain or snow per year and on average received of precipitation. The wettest month was July with of precipitation over 15.7 days. However June had the most precipitation days (15.9) but only . The driest months of the year was February with of precipitation over 10.0 days.
This area has a long winter season, with little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity. The Köppen Climate System classifies the climate in Engelberg as Oceanic. MeteoSwiss's classification is Central Alpine northslope.
Notable people
Baroness Felicitas von Reznicek, (1904-1997 in Engelberg), German writer, a British agent during WWII
Herbert Matter (1907–1984) an American photographer and graphic designer, used photomontage
Giuseppe Piazzi (1907–1963 in Engelberg), bishop of Bergamo
Hermann Hess Helfenstein (1916-2008) a Swiss naturalist, explorer, climber and engineer.
Sport
Rolf Olinger (1924–2006) a Swiss alpine skier and bronze medallist at the 1948 Winter Olympics
Erika Hess (born 1962), bronze medallist at the Alpine skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Dominique Gisin (born 1985), gold medallist at the Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Denise Feierabend (born 1989) a Swiss former World Cup alpine ski racer.
Michelle Gisin (born 1993) alpine ski racer, gold medallist at the 2018 & 2022 Winter Olympics.
Lena Häcki (born 1995), Junior Biathlon silver medallist.
Fabian Bösch (born 1997), Olympic freestyle skier and 2015 slopestyle gold medallist
Fabio Scherer (born 1999), racing driver
References
External links
Municipality Engelberg
Engelberg Tourism website
Titlis website
Brunni website
Municipalities of Obwalden
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
Cultural property of national significance in Obwalden