The steepest municipalities in canton Thurgau
National ranking →Fischingen is the steepest municipality in canton Thurgau: its terrain averages 11.5° of slope. Next come Bichelsee-Balterswil (8.7°) and Herdern (8.1°). 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 | Fischingen | 11.5° | 2'977 |
| 2 | Bichelsee-Balterswil | 8.7° | 3'044 |
| 3 | Herdern | 8.1° | 1'168 |
| 4 | Thundorf | 7.6° | 1'678 |
| 5 | Raperswilen | 7.2° | 426 |
| 6 | Matzingen | 7.1° | 3'111 |
| 7 | Warth-Weiningen | 7.1° | 1'449 |
| 8 | Lommis | 7° | 1'274 |
| 9 | Homburg | 6.9° | 1'570 |
| 10 | Hüttwilen | 6.9° | 1'758 |
| 11 | Wuppenau | 6.3° | 1'194 |
| 12 | Weinfelden | 6.3° | 12'233 |
| 13 | Mammern | 6.2° | 692 |
| 14 | Rickenbach | 6.1° | 3'072 |
| 15 | Stettfurt | 5.9° | 1'251 |
| 16 | Eschlikon | 5.8° | 4'901 |
| 17 | Eschenz | 5.7° | 1'903 |
| 18 | Aadorf | 5.5° | 9'485 |
| 19 | Müllheim | 5.4° | 3'306 |
| 20 | Diessenhofen | 5.3° | 4'132 |
| 21 | Wängi | 5.2° | 4'956 |
| 22 | Wäldi | 5.1° | 1'168 |
| 23 | Wigoltingen | 4.9° | 2'650 |
| 24 | Wagenhausen | 4.8° | 1'839 |
| 25 | Basadingen-Schlattingen | 4.7° | 1'856 |
| 26 | Uesslingen-Buch | 4.7° | 1'131 |
| 27 | Felben-Wellhausen | 4.5° | 3'195 |
| 28 | Braunau | 4.5° | 861 |
| 29 | Bürglen | 4.5° | 4'153 |
| 30 | Affeltrangen | 4.3° | 2'837 |
| 31 | Pfyn | 4.3° | 2'270 |
| 32 | Bischofszell | 4.2° | 6'298 |
| 33 | Neunforn | 4.2° | 1'120 |
| 34 | Münchwilen | 4.1° | 5'908 |
| 35 | Schönholzerswilen | 4° | 889 |
| 36 | Märstetten | 3.9° | 2'949 |
| 37 | Hohentannen | 3.8° | 664 |
| 38 | Tobel-Tägerschen | 3.7° | 1'639 |
| 39 | Wilen | 3.7° | 2'525 |
| 40 | Amlikon-Bissegg | 3.7° | 1'382 |
| 41 | Bussnang | 3.7° | 2'572 |
| 42 | Frauenfeld | 3.6° | 26'747 |
| 43 | Sirnach | 3.6° | 8'133 |
| 44 | Bettwiesen | 3.4° | 1'324 |
| 45 | Sulgen | 3.2° | 4'063 |
| 46 | Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf | 3.2° | 2'612 |
| 47 | Kemmental | 3.1° | 2'800 |
| 48 | Schlatt | 3° | 1'887 |
| 49 | Lengwil | 3° | 1'786 |
| 50 | Hüttlingen | 2.9° | 884 |
| 51 | Sommeri | 2.8° | 672 |
| 52 | Hauptwil-Gottshaus | 2.7° | 2'084 |
| 53 | Kradolf-Schönenberg | 2.5° | 3'899 |
| 54 | Gachnang | 2.5° | 4'609 |
| 55 | Langrickenbach | 2.5° | 1'476 |
| 56 | Erlen | 2.3° | 3'939 |
| 57 | Steckborn | 2.3° | 4'046 |
| 58 | Berg | 2.3° | 3'573 |
| 59 | Birwinken | 2.3° | 1'398 |
| 60 | Hefenhofen | 2.1° | 1'299 |
| 61 | Gottlieben | 2° | 340 |
| 62 | Amriswil | 1.9° | 14'643 |
| 63 | Salenstein | 1.9° | 1'461 |
| 64 | Tägerwilen | 1.6° | 5'341 |
| 65 | Ermatingen | 1.5° | 3'769 |
| 66 | Kreuzlingen | 1.4° | 23'241 |
| 67 | Roggwil | 1.3° | 3'397 |
| 68 | Egnach | 1.2° | 5'031 |
| 69 | Salmsach | 1.1° | 1'600 |
| 70 | Bottighofen | 1° | 2'688 |
| 71 | Güttingen | 0.6° | 1'738 |
| 72 | Romanshorn | 0.4° | 11'728 |
| 73 | Altnau | 0.4° | 2'356 |
| 74 | Dozwil | 0.2° | 730 |
| 75 | Kesswil | 0.1° | 999 |
| 76 | Arbon | 0° | 15'853 |
| 77 | Horn | 0° | 3'130 |
| 78 | Uttwil | 0° | 1'911 |
| 79 | Münsterlingen | 0° | 3'600 |
| 80 | Berlingen | 0° | 947 |
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 Thurgau has the steepest terrain?
- Fischingen, whose terrain averages 11.5° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2025) — 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.