The steepest municipalities in canton Lucerne
National ranking →Romoos is the steepest municipality in canton Lucerne: its terrain averages 25.2° of slope. Next come Vitznau (22.7°) and Escholzmatt-Marbach (21.4°). 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 2026.
Ranking
swisstopo · swissALTIRegio 2026| Rank | Municipality | Mean slope | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romoos | 25.2° | 640 |
| 2 | Vitznau | 22.7° | 1'492 |
| 3 | Escholzmatt-Marbach | 21.4° | 4'587 |
| 4 | Flühli | 21.2° | 1'918 |
| 5 | Schwarzenberg | 20.5° | 1'808 |
| 6 | Hasle | 19.8° | 1'841 |
| 7 | Luthern | 18.9° | 1'252 |
| 8 | Hergiswil bei Willisau | 17.8° | 1'934 |
| 9 | Entlebuch | 17.4° | 3'409 |
| 10 | Schüpfheim | 16.7° | 4'287 |
| 11 | Doppleschwand | 16.5° | 843 |
| 12 | Wolhusen | 16.5° | 4'868 |
| 13 | Menznau | 15.6° | 3'168 |
| 14 | Kriens | 14.7° | 30'685 |
| 15 | Werthenstein | 13.4° | 2'161 |
| 16 | Willisau | 13.3° | 9'297 |
| 17 | Greppen | 13.2° | 1'228 |
| 18 | Dierikon | 11.6° | 1'691 |
| 19 | Udligenswil | 11.5° | 2'483 |
| 20 | Adligenswil | 11.3° | 5'704 |
| 21 | Reiden | 11.1° | 7'690 |
| 22 | Gisikon | 11° | 1'543 |
| 23 | Wikon | 10.7° | 1'491 |
| 24 | Zell | 10.7° | 2'264 |
| 25 | Ufhusen | 10.4° | 924 |
| 26 | Grossdietwil | 10.2° | 923 |
| 27 | Roggliswil | 10.2° | 785 |
| 28 | Malters | 10.1° | 7'930 |
| 29 | Root | 10.1° | 6'712 |
| 30 | Dagmersellen | 10.1° | 6'144 |
| 31 | Altbüron | 9.9° | 1'013 |
| 32 | Fischbach | 9.9° | 760 |
| 33 | Nebikon | 9.9° | 2'959 |
| 34 | Altishofen | 9.8° | 2'040 |
| 35 | Weggis | 9.5° | 4'874 |
| 36 | Rickenbach | 9.1° | 3'887 |
| 37 | Ebikon | 8.4° | 14'737 |
| 38 | Meierskappel | 8.4° | 1'578 |
| 39 | Pfaffnau | 8.2° | 2'792 |
| 40 | Triengen | 8.1° | 5'051 |
| 41 | Horw | 7.6° | 15'939 |
| 42 | Lucerne | 7.5° | 86'699 |
| 43 | Ruswil | 7.3° | 7'645 |
| 44 | Schötz | 7.2° | 4'983 |
| 45 | Schongau | 6.6° | 1'055 |
| 46 | Egolzwil | 6.5° | 1'667 |
| 47 | Ermensee | 6.4° | 1'087 |
| 48 | Römerswil | 6.4° | 1'804 |
| 49 | Schlierbach | 6.4° | 994 |
| 50 | Schenkon | 6.3° | 3'163 |
| 51 | Geuensee | 6.2° | 3'069 |
| 52 | Büron | 6° | 2'759 |
| 53 | Grosswangen | 6° | 3'492 |
| 54 | Hitzkirch | 5.9° | 6'067 |
| 55 | Alberswil | 5.6° | 741 |
| 56 | Buttisholz | 5.3° | 3'510 |
| 57 | Wauwil | 5.3° | 2'683 |
| 58 | Beromünster | 5.1° | 6'963 |
| 59 | Aesch | 5° | 1'526 |
| 60 | Hohenrain | 5° | 2'467 |
| 61 | Eich | 5° | 1'779 |
| 62 | Neuenkirch | 5° | 7'243 |
| 63 | Mauensee | 4.8° | 1'533 |
| 64 | Meggen | 4.5° | 7'718 |
| 65 | Oberkirch | 4.5° | 5'213 |
| 66 | Ettiswil | 4.5° | 2'877 |
| 67 | Nottwil | 4.4° | 4'104 |
| 68 | Inwil | 4.3° | 2'919 |
| 69 | Knutwil | 4.2° | 2'499 |
| 70 | Hildisrieden | 4.1° | 2'468 |
| 71 | Sempach | 3.8° | 4'404 |
| 72 | Eschenbach | 3.6° | 3'796 |
| 73 | Rain | 3.5° | 3'347 |
| 74 | Rothenburg | 3.4° | 7'983 |
| 75 | Buchrain | 3.2° | 7'013 |
| 76 | Ballwil | 3.1° | 2'845 |
| 77 | Emmen | 3° | 32'777 |
| 78 | Hochdorf | 2.5° | 10'158 |
| 79 | Sursee | 1.5° | 11'118 |
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 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
- Which municipality in canton Lucerne has the steepest terrain?
- Romoos, whose terrain averages 25.2° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2026) — 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.