The steepest municipalities in Switzerland
Swiss municipality rankings →Personico (TI) is the steepest municipality in Switzerland: its terrain averages 39.4° of slope. Next come Linescio (37.9°) and Buseno (36.9°). This is the average gradient over the whole municipal area — not where people live — measured on a 40 m elevation grid, so it is reliable for ranking but slightly gentler than a finer grid would show. Source: swisstopo swissALTIRegio 2026.
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swisstopo · swissALTIRegio 2026How we measure this
swisstopoThe mean slope of the terrain in degrees, averaged over the whole municipal area from the swisstopo swissALTIRegio digital elevation model at 40 m resolution (swissALTIRegio 2026). Two caveats matter. First, it describes the entire territory, not the inhabited settlement — a municipality can be steep overall while its village sits on flat ground. Second, slope depends on the grid it is measured at: at 40 m the figures run a few percent gentler than a 10 m grid, so use them to order municipalities, not as an absolute gradient. Steep terrain and large vertical range tend to coincide; see the greatest-vertical-range ranking.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the slope measured at 40 m?
- Slope depends on the resolution of the elevation grid it is computed from. These figures use the swisstopo 40 m grid, which is stable and comparable across all municipalities; a finer 10 m grid would read a few percent steeper. The ranking order is reliable, but the degree value is not an absolute gradient.