Obwalden

Obwalden was the upper valley of Unterwalden, around Sarnen south of Lake Lucerne. Its communities governed themselves through assemblies, having joined Uri and Schwyz in the alliance of 1291 as part of Unterwalden.

Obwalden fought at Sempach in 1386. In 1481 its hermit Niklaus von der Flüe helped bring about the Stans compromise, admitting Fribourg and Solothurn to the confederation. The valley remained Catholic during the Reformation; after becoming a Helvetic district in 1798, it regained half-canton status under the Act of Mediation in 1803.