The steepest municipalities in canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden
National ranking →Schönengrund is the steepest municipality in canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden: its terrain averages 17.1° of slope. Next come Hundwil (16.2°) and Gais (15°). This is the mean gradient across the whole municipal area, measured on a 40 m elevation grid — a figure for ordering, not an absolute gradient. Source: swisstopo swissALTIRegio 2025.
Ranking
swisstopo · swissALTIRegio 2025| Rank | Municipality | Mean slope | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schönengrund | 17.1° | 556 |
| 2 | Hundwil | 16.2° | 944 |
| 3 | Gais | 15° | 3'147 |
| 4 | Trogen | 15° | 1'862 |
| 5 | Speicher | 14.6° | 4'453 |
| 6 | Wald | 14.6° | 909 |
| 7 | Urnäsch | 14.1° | 2'346 |
| 8 | Schwellbrunn | 13.1° | 1'557 |
| 9 | Bühler | 13.1° | 1'954 |
| 10 | Reute | 12.7° | 700 |
| 11 | Stein | 12.5° | 1'498 |
| 12 | Waldstatt | 11.2° | 1'874 |
| 13 | Rehetobel | 10.4° | 1'773 |
| 14 | Teufen | 10° | 6'514 |
| 15 | Heiden | 7.1° | 4'316 |
| 16 | Herisau | 6.4° | 15'893 |
| 17 | Grub | 4.3° | 971 |
| 18 | Wolfhalden | 1.5° | 1'867 |
| 19 | Walzenhausen | 1° | 2'029 |
| 20 | Lutzenberg | 0.1° | 1'332 |
How 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 2025). 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
- Which municipality in canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden has the steepest terrain?
- Schönengrund, whose terrain averages 17.1° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2025) — the steepest of any municipality in canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden, measured on the swisstopo 40 m elevation grid.
- 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.