Place · city

Sarnen

Sarnen is the capital of the Swiss canton of Obwalden, on the northern shore of Lake Sarnen. Its cantonal archive holds the White Book of Sarnen, written around 1470, which contains the earliest account of the founding of the Swiss Confederacy and the legend of William Tell. The town has long been the seat of Obwalden's government and Landsgemeinde.

Sarnen
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Mentioned in 1 state history

Canton of Unterwalden

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sarnen. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sarnen
MLA
“Sarnen.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sarnen. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sarnen.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sarnen.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sarnen’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sarnen (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻