The steepest municipalities in canton Thurgau
National ranking →Fischingen is the steepest municipality in canton Thurgau: its terrain averages 15.2° of slope. Next come Bichelsee-Balterswil (12.1°) and Berlingen (11.8°). 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 | Fischingen | 15.2° | 3'145 |
| 2 | Bichelsee-Balterswil | 12.1° | 3'034 |
| 3 | Berlingen | 11.8° | 941 |
| 4 | Mammern | 11.7° | 712 |
| 5 | Steckborn | 10.7° | 4'036 |
| 6 | Salenstein | 7.9° | 1'502 |
| 7 | Sirnach | 7.4° | 8'387 |
| 8 | Wuppenau | 7.2° | 1'215 |
| 9 | Eschenz | 7° | 1'951 |
| 10 | Hüttlingen | 6.8° | 898 |
| 11 | Thundorf | 6.8° | 1'771 |
| 12 | Braunau | 6.8° | 919 |
| 13 | Hauptwil-Gottshaus | 6.6° | 2'121 |
| 14 | Stettfurt | 6.6° | 1'298 |
| 15 | Aadorf | 6.4° | 9'924 |
| 16 | Eschlikon | 6.2° | 4'913 |
| 17 | Wilen | 6.2° | 2'469 |
| 18 | Herdern | 6.2° | 1'182 |
| 19 | Hüttwilen | 6° | 1'776 |
| 20 | Neunforn | 5.8° | 1'170 |
| 21 | Warth-Weiningen | 5.8° | 1'467 |
| 22 | Lommis | 5.8° | 1'355 |
| 23 | Schönholzerswilen | 5.8° | 872 |
| 24 | Ermatingen | 5.7° | 3'799 |
| 25 | Bettwiesen | 5.7° | 1'355 |
| 26 | Wagenhausen | 5.7° | 1'852 |
| 27 | Bischofszell | 5.5° | 6'438 |
| 28 | Kradolf-Schönenberg | 5.5° | 3'935 |
| 29 | Matzingen | 5.5° | 3'355 |
| 30 | Diessenhofen | 5.4° | 4'157 |
| 31 | Tobel-Tägerschen | 5.2° | 1'751 |
| 32 | Amlikon-Bissegg | 5.2° | 1'423 |
| 33 | Bottighofen | 5.1° | 2'765 |
| 34 | Wängi | 5.1° | 5'141 |
| 35 | Homburg | 5.1° | 1'597 |
| 36 | Bussnang | 5° | 2'599 |
| 37 | Pfyn | 4.8° | 2'259 |
| 38 | Raperswilen | 4.7° | 429 |
| 39 | Weinfelden | 4.7° | 12'652 |
| 40 | Hohentannen | 4.6° | 670 |
| 41 | Gachnang | 4.5° | 4'778 |
| 42 | Märstetten | 4.3° | 3'067 |
| 43 | Uesslingen-Buch | 4.1° | 1'242 |
| 44 | Müllheim | 4.1° | 3'403 |
| 45 | Affeltrangen | 4° | 2'890 |
| 46 | Basadingen-Schlattingen | 3.9° | 1'935 |
| 47 | Felben-Wellhausen | 3.9° | 3'312 |
| 48 | Berg | 3.9° | 3'757 |
| 49 | Schlatt | 3.8° | 1'857 |
| 50 | Frauenfeld | 3.8° | 27'201 |
| 51 | Münsterlingen | 3.8° | 3'726 |
| 52 | Roggwil | 3.7° | 3'471 |
| 53 | Tägerwilen | 3.4° | 5'558 |
| 54 | Amriswil | 3.3° | 15'225 |
| 55 | Sulgen | 3.3° | 4'186 |
| 56 | Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf | 3.3° | 2'655 |
| 57 | Kemmental | 3.3° | 2'924 |
| 58 | Münchwilen | 3.3° | 6'043 |
| 59 | Rickenbach | 3.3° | 3'078 |
| 60 | Wigoltingen | 3.3° | 2'674 |
| 61 | Erlen | 3.2° | 4'028 |
| 62 | Kreuzlingen | 3.2° | 23'550 |
| 63 | Wäldi | 3° | 1'179 |
| 64 | Altnau | 2.6° | 2'351 |
| 65 | Langrickenbach | 2.4° | 1'551 |
| 66 | Bürglen | 2.4° | 4'252 |
| 67 | Egnach | 2.3° | 5'259 |
| 68 | Birwinken | 2.3° | 1'452 |
| 69 | Uttwil | 2.2° | 1'873 |
| 70 | Lengwil | 2.2° | 1'814 |
| 71 | Kesswil | 2.1° | 1'004 |
| 72 | Sommeri | 2.1° | 696 |
| 73 | Güttingen | 2.1° | 1'905 |
| 74 | Hefenhofen | 2° | 1'344 |
| 75 | Arbon | 1.8° | 16'407 |
| 76 | Romanshorn | 1.6° | 11'982 |
| 77 | Salmsach | 1.5° | 1'631 |
| 78 | Dozwil | 1.3° | 724 |
| 79 | Horn | 1° | 3'228 |
| 80 | Gottlieben | 0.7° | 359 |
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 Thurgau has the steepest terrain?
- Fischingen, whose terrain averages 15.2° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2026) — the steepest of any municipality in canton Thurgau, 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.