Canton of Nidwalden
Kanton Nidwalden (German) Canton of Nidwald | |
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Coordinates: 46°56′N 8°4′E / 46.933°N 8.067°E | |
Capital | Stans |
Subdivisions | 11 municipalities |
Government | |
• Executive | Regierungsrat (7) |
• Legislative | Landrat (60) |
Area | |
• Total | 275.84 km2 (106.50 sq mi) |
Population (December 2020)[2] | |
• Total | 43,520 |
• Density | 160/km2 (410/sq mi) |
GDP | |
• Total | CHF 2.867 billion (2020) |
• Per capita | CHF 66,209 (2020) |
ISO 3166 code | CH-NW |
Highest point | 2,901 m (9,518 ft): Rotstöckli |
Lowest point | 434 m (1,424 ft): Lake Lucerne |
Joined | 1291 |
Languages | German |
Website | www |
Nidwalden or Nidwald (German: Kanton Nidwalden [ˈniːdˌvaldn̩] ; Romansh: Chantun Sutsilvania; French: Canton de Nidwald [ni.dwal]; Italian: Canton Nidvaldo) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Stans. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Obwalden.
Nidwalden lies in Central Switzerland. It borders the canton of Obwalden to the west, the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz to the north, the canton of Uri to the east and the canton of Bern to the south. The canton is essentially in the Alps, south of Lake Lucerne.
It is one of the smallest cantons, the population is 40,287 (in 2007).[4] The largest town is Stans, followed by Hergiswil and Buochs.
Together with Obwalden, Nidwalden was part of the forest canton of Unterwalden, one of the three participants in the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy, named in the Pact of Brunnen of 1315 with Uri and Schwyz. The division of Unterwalden into two separate territories, Obwalden and Nidwalden, appears to develop over the course of the 14th and 15th centuries.