The steepest municipalities in canton Solothurn
National ranking →Balm bei Günsberg is the steepest municipality in canton Solothurn: its terrain averages 23.3° of slope. Next come Beinwil (22.2°) and Herbetswil (20.6°). 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 | Balm bei Günsberg | 23.3° | 213 |
| 2 | Beinwil | 22.2° | 248 |
| 3 | Herbetswil | 20.6° | 617 |
| 4 | Erschwil | 20.6° | 996 |
| 5 | Bärschwil | 19.9° | 806 |
| 6 | Grindel | 19.9° | 508 |
| 7 | Welschenrohr-Gänsbrunnen | 19.4° | 1'199 |
| 8 | Oberdorf | 19.3° | 1'806 |
| 9 | Mümliswil-Ramiswil | 18.9° | 2'472 |
| 10 | Meltingen | 18.9° | 623 |
| 11 | Günsberg | 18.1° | 1'169 |
| 12 | Holderbank | 17.5° | 779 |
| 13 | Aedermannsdorf | 17.3° | 607 |
| 14 | Zullwil | 17.3° | 704 |
| 15 | Hauenstein-Ifenthal | 17° | 348 |
| 16 | Trimbach | 16.9° | 6'928 |
| 17 | Wisen | 16.9° | 451 |
| 18 | Himmelried | 16.8° | 974 |
| 19 | Rüttenen | 16.7° | 1'498 |
| 20 | Balsthal | 16.5° | 6'622 |
| 21 | Nunningen | 16.4° | 1'948 |
| 22 | Hägendorf | 16.1° | 5'343 |
| 23 | Kleinlützel | 16.1° | 1'190 |
| 24 | Kienberg | 15.5° | 526 |
| 25 | Matzendorf | 15.2° | 1'439 |
| 26 | Büren | 14.9° | 1'060 |
| 27 | Laupersdorf | 14.7° | 1'916 |
| 28 | Büsserach | 14° | 2'473 |
| 29 | Stüsslingen | 13.9° | 1'265 |
| 30 | Egerkingen | 13.8° | 4'365 |
| 31 | Lostorf | 13.8° | 4'113 |
| 32 | Seewen | 13.7° | 1'088 |
| 33 | Nuglar-St. Pantaleon | 13.6° | 1'580 |
| 34 | Lommiswil | 13.5° | 1'615 |
| 35 | Kammersrohr | 12.7° | 32 |
| 36 | Oberbuchsiten | 12.4° | 2'382 |
| 37 | Bettlach | 12.4° | 4'935 |
| 38 | Selzach | 12.4° | 3'750 |
| 39 | Dornach | 12.1° | 6'898 |
| 40 | Hofstetten-Flüh | 12° | 3'410 |
| 41 | Wangen bei Olten | 11.4° | 5'598 |
| 42 | Metzerlen-Mariastein | 10.6° | 970 |
| 43 | Starrkirch-Wil | 10.4° | 2'020 |
| 44 | Grenchen | 10.3° | 18'973 |
| 45 | Erlinsbach | 10.2° | 3'761 |
| 46 | Rickenbach | 9.8° | 1'208 |
| 47 | Fehren | 9.7° | 619 |
| 48 | Oensingen | 9.4° | 6'766 |
| 49 | Olten | 9° | 19'265 |
| 50 | Kappel | 8.9° | 3'591 |
| 51 | Hochwald | 8.4° | 1'278 |
| 52 | Dulliken | 8.4° | 5'489 |
| 53 | Walterswil | 8.1° | 768 |
| 54 | Gempen | 7.6° | 919 |
| 55 | Winznau | 7.4° | 2'061 |
| 56 | Unterramsern | 7.3° | 230 |
| 57 | Riedholz | 6.9° | 2'319 |
| 58 | Eppenberg-Wöschnau | 6.9° | 336 |
| 59 | Breitenbach | 6.7° | 4'440 |
| 60 | Bättwil | 6.6° | 1'185 |
| 61 | Lüterkofen-Ichertswil | 6.5° | 923 |
| 62 | Witterswil | 6.5° | 1'475 |
| 63 | Gretzenbach | 6.3° | 2'825 |
| 64 | Buchegg | 6.2° | 2'979 |
| 65 | Messen | 6° | 1'506 |
| 66 | Hubersdorf | 5.9° | 727 |
| 67 | Biezwil | 5.8° | 345 |
| 68 | Rodersdorf | 5.7° | 1'398 |
| 69 | Niedergösgen | 5.7° | 4'297 |
| 70 | Feldbrunnen-St. Niklaus | 5.5° | 1'068 |
| 71 | Däniken | 5.4° | 3'108 |
| 72 | Langendorf | 5° | 3'983 |
| 73 | Schnottwil | 4.9° | 1'159 |
| 74 | Schönenwerd | 4.8° | 5'437 |
| 75 | Aeschi | 4.3° | 1'342 |
| 76 | Kestenholz | 4.1° | 1'888 |
| 77 | Biberist | 4.1° | 9'531 |
| 78 | Lüsslingen-Nennigkofen | 4° | 1'131 |
| 79 | Niederbuchsiten | 3.7° | 1'369 |
| 80 | Lohn-Ammannsegg | 3.7° | 2'940 |
| 81 | Boningen | 3.7° | 816 |
| 82 | Flumenthal | 3.6° | 1'023 |
| 83 | Bellach | 3.4° | 5'632 |
| 84 | Obergösgen | 2.6° | 2'553 |
| 85 | Hüniken | 2.6° | 160 |
| 86 | Etziken | 2.4° | 1'093 |
| 87 | Horriwil | 2.4° | 940 |
| 88 | Drei Höfe | 2.4° | 727 |
| 89 | Neuendorf | 2.3° | 2'412 |
| 90 | Bolken | 2.3° | 579 |
| 91 | Gunzgen | 2.1° | 1'783 |
| 92 | Wolfwil | 2° | 2'473 |
| 93 | Solothurn | 2° | 16'830 |
| 94 | Zuchwil | 1.9° | 9'622 |
| 95 | Fulenbach | 1.8° | 1'841 |
| 96 | Deitingen | 1.7° | 2'409 |
| 97 | Subingen | 1.6° | 3'311 |
| 98 | Kriegstetten | 1.4° | 1'456 |
| 99 | Härkingen | 1.3° | 1'763 |
| 100 | Derendingen | 0.9° | 7'219 |
| 101 | Recherswil | 0.8° | 2'260 |
| 102 | Gerlafingen | 0.7° | 5'859 |
| 103 | Luterbach | 0.7° | 3'756 |
| 104 | Obergerlafingen | 0.5° | 1'232 |
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 Solothurn has the steepest terrain?
- Balm bei Günsberg, whose terrain averages 23.3° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2026) — the steepest of any municipality in canton Solothurn, 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.