Canton of Obwalden in the context of "Brünig Pass"

Districts of Switzerland are a political subdivision for cantons. In the federally constituted Switzerland, each canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed districts. Most cantons are divided into Bezirke (German for districts, singular Bezirk). They are also termed Ämter (Lucerne, singular Amt), Amtsbezirke (Bern, Amtsbezirk), district (in French) or distretto (Ticino and part of Graubünden). The Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Grisons and Schwyz are their own legal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their own Landsgemeinde.

Seven of the 26 cantons – Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Basel-City and Geneva – have always existed without the district level of government. An eighth one, Appenzell Innerrhoden, uses no intermediate level either, but calls its lowest-level subdivisions Bezirke, although they are functionally equivalent to municipalities elsewhere.

The Braunvieh or Swiss Brown is a breed or group of breeds of domestic cattle originating in Switzerland and distributed throughout the Alpine region. It falls within the "Brown Mountain" group of cattle breeds. The Swiss Braunvieh was originally a triple-purpose animal, used for milk production, for meat and for draught work; the modern Braunvieh is predominantly a dairy breed.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century cattle of this type were exported to the United States, where they were selectively bred for dairy qualities only, and developed into a distinct breed, the American Brown Swiss. From about 1960 the Braunvieh was extensively cross-bred with these American cattle, such that over 75% of the genetic make-up of the Swiss Braunvieh is from the American breed. Small numbers of the original breed, unaffected by cross-breeding, are registered as Original Schweizer Braunvieh or Original Braunvieh.

Sarnen (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈzarnən] ) is a small historic town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Obwalden situated on the northern shores of Lake Sarnen (German: Sarnersee) in Switzerland. It has a population of just over 10,000 and is surrounded by countryside and mountains. Sarnen is located 20 km south of Lucerne.

The official language of Sarnen is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

The Sarner Aa is a 28 km (17 mi) long river in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It drains the area to the eastern side of the Brünig Pass, flowing through the Lake Lungern, Lake Sarnen and the Wichelsee, before entering Lake Lucerne near Alpnach. It goes by several names over its length, being known as the Lauibach upstream of the Lungerersee, and the Aa or Aawasser between the Lungerersee and Lake Sarnen.

Along its length, the Sarner Aa flows through or near the settlements of Lungern, Giswil, Sachseln, Sarnen, Kerns and Alpnach.