Vitznau

Vitznau
Coat of arms
Vitznau Show map of Switzerland Vitznau Show map of Canton of Lucerne
Location of Vitznau
Coordinates: 47°1′N 8°29′E / 47.017°N 8.483°E / 47.017; 8.483Coordinates: 47°1′N 8°29′E / 47.017°N 8.483°E / 47.017; 8.483
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Lucerne
District	Lucerne
Area
• Total	8.91 km2 (3.44 sq mi)
Elevation	438 m (1,437 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	1,320
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Postal code	6354
SFOS number	1068
Surrounded by	Arth (SZ), Ennetbürgen (NW), Gersau (SZ), Weggis
Website	www.vitznau.ch Profile (German), SFSO statistics

Vitznau is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.

Vitznau was first mentioned in 998. In the 19th century it became a popular destination for tourism, especially from England; the imposing Park Hotel Vitznau west of town dates from the 1900s.

It occupies a narrow strip between the lake and the Rigi looming behind; one of the mountain railways to the summit starts in Vitznau.

Vitznau has an area of 8.9 km² (3.4 sq mi). Of this area, 32.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 56.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 7.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). In the 1997 land survey^[update], 56.28% of the total land area was forested. Of the agricultural land, 30.38% is used for farming or pastures, while 1.79% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the settled areas, 4.71% is covered with buildings, 0.11% is industrial, 0.22% is classed as special developments, 0.56% is parks or greenbelts and 1.91% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.11% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), 0.11% is unproductive flowing water (rivers) and 3.81% is other unproductive land.

Vitznau has a population (as of 31 December 2015) of 1,320. As of 2007^[update], 22.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 11.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (91.7%), with Albanian being second most common ( 3.1%) and Italian being third ( 1.2%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 29.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (24.1%), the CVP (23.7%) and the Green Party (10.9%).