Entlebuch

Entlebuch is a municipality in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district of Entlebuch. The area has been designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2001.

==History== Entlebuch is first mentioned in 1157, as Entilibuoch, Entelinbuoch. It was in possession of St. Blasien monastery at the time, later passing to the local lords of Wolhusen, who sold it to the House of Habsburg before 1300. It was held by a number of Habsburg reeves during the 14th century, until the Habsburgs lost control of the area to Lucerne following the Battle of Sempach (1386). Entlebuch received the right to hold a market in 1513. From 1596 it was the administrative seat of Entlebuch bailiwick (predecessor of the modern Entlebuch District). A fulling mill was built in 1651, a dyeing mill in 1720. A new church was built in 1776–1780. More textile manufactories were built in the 1840s to 1850s by Johann Ackermann, united into a textile company in 1867 (the factory ceased production in 1971, the company survives as Ackermann Versandhaus AG A hydroelectric plant for the factory was built in 1905 and remains operational. The municipality was established in 1798. Settlement of the Entle valley commenced relatively late, with a population of about 2,200 in the 1450s, 5,400 in 1715 (Entlebuch parish: 1,470 in 1745). Population in Entlebuch municipality rose during the first half of the 19th century, from 1,830 in 1798 to 3,085 in 1850, as a result of industrialisation. It declined again after 1850, reaching 2,677 in 1900, and rose again only slightly during the 20th century, to 3,366 in 2000.