Lauerz

Lauerz is a village and municipality in the Schwyz District of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. It adjoins Lake Lauerz (Lauerzersee).

History

Lauerz is first mentioned in 1306 as Lowertz.

In September 1806, the village was very badly affected by the tidal wave that followed the landslide at Goldau, resulting in the deaths of 115 people in Lauerz alone.

Geography

The village of Lauerz is situated on the south shore of Lake Lauerz (Lauerzersee). The municipality consists of the village of Lauerz and a number of scattered farm houses between the northern slope of the Rigi mountain and the lake. A section of the lake, together with both of its islands, Schwanau and Roggenburg, are also within the municipality.

The municipality of Lauerz has an area, as of 2006, of 9.2 km² (3.6 sq mi). Of this area, 44.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (15.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).