The steepest municipalities in canton Lucerne
National ranking →Romoos is the steepest municipality in canton Lucerne: its terrain averages 25.3° of slope. Next come Vitznau (23.6°) and Flühli (21.2°). 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 | Romoos | 25.3° | 652 |
| 2 | Vitznau | 23.6° | 1'430 |
| 3 | Flühli | 21.2° | 1'821 |
| 4 | Escholzmatt-Marbach | 21.1° | 4'474 |
| 5 | Hasle | 19.7° | 1'794 |
| 6 | Schwarzenberg | 19.3° | 1'792 |
| 7 | Luthern | 18.3° | 1'265 |
| 8 | Doppleschwand | 18.1° | 830 |
| 9 | Hergiswil bei Willisau | 17.4° | 1'928 |
| 10 | Entlebuch | 16.8° | 3'387 |
| 11 | Schüpfheim | 16.5° | 4'251 |
| 12 | Wolhusen | 15.5° | 4'561 |
| 13 | Udligenswil | 14.9° | 2'480 |
| 14 | Menznau | 14.9° | 3'113 |
| 15 | Kriens | 14.6° | 29'632 |
| 16 | Werthenstein | 14.2° | 2'199 |
| 17 | Willisau | 12.8° | 9'149 |
| 18 | Adligenswil | 12.3° | 5'621 |
| 19 | Weggis | 12.2° | 4'644 |
| 20 | Reiden | 11.1° | 7'492 |
| 21 | Wikon | 10.8° | 1'509 |
| 22 | Zell | 10.7° | 2'162 |
| 23 | Grossdietwil | 10.3° | 904 |
| 24 | Dagmersellen | 10.1° | 5'878 |
| 25 | Nebikon | 10.1° | 2'817 |
| 26 | Ufhusen | 10.1° | 936 |
| 27 | Altbüron | 10° | 1'032 |
| 28 | Fischbach | 10° | 731 |
| 29 | Roggliswil | 9.8° | 789 |
| 30 | Greppen | 9.7° | 1'201 |
| 31 | Altishofen | 9.7° | 2'018 |
| 32 | Rickenbach | 9.2° | 3'695 |
| 33 | Egolzwil | 8.5° | 1'661 |
| 34 | Triengen | 8.3° | 4'811 |
| 35 | Pfaffnau | 8° | 2'784 |
| 36 | Horw | 7.9° | 15'475 |
| 37 | Meggen | 7.6° | 7'771 |
| 38 | Malters | 7.5° | 7'771 |
| 39 | Root | 7.5° | 5'727 |
| 40 | Büron | 7.3° | 2'746 |
| 41 | Meierskappel | 7.2° | 1'580 |
| 42 | Ruswil | 7° | 7'472 |
| 43 | Schenkon | 7° | 3'130 |
| 44 | Wauwil | 7° | 2'599 |
| 45 | Römerswil | 6.8° | 1'789 |
| 46 | Schötz | 6.8° | 4'924 |
| 47 | Schlierbach | 6.6° | 988 |
| 48 | Geuensee | 6.4° | 2'900 |
| 49 | Dierikon | 6.3° | 1'665 |
| 50 | Grosswangen | 6.3° | 3'450 |
| 51 | Hitzkirch | 6.2° | 6'030 |
| 52 | Alberswil | 6° | 728 |
| 53 | Aesch | 5.8° | 1'405 |
| 54 | Eich | 5.7° | 1'669 |
| 55 | Ermensee | 5.4° | 1'032 |
| 56 | Hohenrain | 5.4° | 2'452 |
| 57 | Gisikon | 5.4° | 1'503 |
| 58 | Schongau | 5.3° | 1'061 |
| 59 | Ebikon | 5.3° | 14'662 |
| 60 | Lucerne | 5.3° | 85'534 |
| 61 | Beromünster | 5.2° | 6'714 |
| 62 | Buttisholz | 5.1° | 3'504 |
| 63 | Mauensee | 4.8° | 1'532 |
| 64 | Inwil | 4.6° | 2'919 |
| 65 | Neuenkirch | 4.6° | 7'222 |
| 66 | Sempach | 4.4° | 4'160 |
| 67 | Knutwil | 4.3° | 2'460 |
| 68 | Rain | 3.9° | 3'129 |
| 69 | Oberkirch | 3.9° | 5'077 |
| 70 | Ettiswil | 3.8° | 2'878 |
| 71 | Eschenbach | 3.7° | 3'806 |
| 72 | Hildisrieden | 3.7° | 2'468 |
| 73 | Emmen | 3.6° | 32'380 |
| 74 | Nottwil | 3.6° | 4'149 |
| 75 | Ballwil | 3° | 2'821 |
| 76 | Rothenburg | 2.8° | 7'828 |
| 77 | Hochdorf | 2.7° | 10'033 |
| 78 | Honau | 1.9° | 566 |
| 79 | Buchrain | 1.6° | 6'782 |
| 80 | Sursee | 1.3° | 10'810 |
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 Lucerne has the steepest terrain?
- Romoos, whose terrain averages 25.3° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2025) — the steepest of any municipality in canton Lucerne, 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.