Together with Nidwalden, Obwalden was part of the forest canton of Unterwalden, one of the three participants in the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy, named in the Pact of Brunnen of 1315 with Uri and Schwyz.

In 1999, the new Federal Constitution eliminated the half-canton designation and made Obwalden a full canton, though they still shared representation in the Council of States and only had half a vote.

The earliest archaeological traces in Obwalden is a stone knife from the 8th millennium BC, which was found in Brand by Lungern.

It appears that the valleys in Obwalden were at least temporarily inhabited during this time, but no evidence of agriculture or permanent settlements have been found.

The estate was built in the late 1st century AD and remained in operation until a fire destroyed the main building in 270.

The Alamanni influence is noticeable around Lake Sarnen and the Kerns plateau where many place name end in -ingen, -wil and -hofen.

It became part of the Holy Roman Empire following the winter military campaign of 1032-33 by Emperor Conrad II.

During the Early Middle Ages, much of the land in Obwalden was controlled by monasteries (especially Murbach-Lucerne and Beromünster Abbey).

[5] In the early 12th century the Counts of Lenzburg granted a large part of their lands in Obwalden to their monastery at Beromünster.

The political community of Sarnen (de Sarnon locorum homines) were first mentioned in a Papal bull in 1247, when they and the citizens of Schwyz were excommunicated for supporting Frederick II against their ruler, Rudolf of Habsburg-Laufenburg.

During the 13th century, Obwalden was home to a unified local political organization with enough autonomy to act against the best interests of their nominal rulers.

This changed on 16 April 1291 when Rudolph I of Habsburg bought the Unterwalden (containing both Obwalden and Nidwalden) from Murbach Abbey.

[6] In 1309 Emperor Henry VII confirmed to Unterwalden all the liberties granted by his predecessor, though the exact terms are unknown.

[6] The Emperor also granted the valleys imperial immediacy which placed Unterwalden on an equal political footing with Uri and Schwyz.

[7] In support of their allies, Unterwalden joined the Confederates in the Battle of Morgarten and drove back an invasion of the Brünig Pass.

After the decisive Confederation victory over the Habsburgs, Unterwalden renewed the Eternal Alliance in the Pact of Brunnen.

In 1403 Obwalden joined Uri to invade the Leventina area (today located in the canton of Ticino) to establish new markets for cheese and cattle.

Milan attacked the city three years later in 1422 after an offer to buy Bellinzona was rejected by the Swiss Confederation.

The troops from Uri and Obwalden were quickly driven from the city and later defeated at the Battle of Arbedo on 30 June 1422.

While Obwalden participated in the conquests of Aargau (1415), Thurgau (1460), and Locarno, (1512), and in the temporary occupation of the Val d' Ossola (1410–14, 1416–22, 1425–26, 1512–15)[6] it was never able to incorporate any captured territory or grow.

During the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) Unterwalden, like the other Forest cantons, hung back through jealousy of Bern, but came to the rescue in time of need.

The details of the message have remained unknown to this day, however, it did calm the tempers and led to the drawing up of the Stanser Verkommnis.

When attempts to resolve the conflicts between the Protestant and Catholic cantons in the Tagsatzung and during the disputation of Baden (1526) were unsuccessful, Obwalden adopted an aggressively pro-Catholic stance.

The Obwalden invasion and the Bernese response, which drove them out of Bern, were part of the general unrest leading to the First War of Kappel in 1529.

The cantonal constitution documents of 19 and 24 November 1815 partially guaranteed the traditional rights of the Abbey and its surrounding community.

In response to this radical government, the Catholic and conservative cantons, including Obwalden, formed the Sonderbund or separate alliance in 1843.

Though Obwalden participated in the War, the Sonderbund council surrendered before the Federal army reached the Canton.

In 1922, the power of the Landsgemeinde was weakened further with the introduction of secret ballots on constitutional, legal and tax laws.

[15] The evolving party membership in the Kantonsrat is shown in the following chart (for selected dates):[5] Obwalden has a population (as of December 2020[update]) of 38,108.

[16] The historic population is given in the following chart:[5] There are seven municipalities: Sarnen, Kerns, Sachseln, Alpnach, Giswil, Lungern and Engelberg.