Gurtnellen is first mentioned in 1257 as Chuno und die Gurteneller. In 1321 it was mentioned as Gruntellon, and in 1359 as Gurtenellen.
Geography
Gurtnellen has an area,, of. Of this area, 11.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.3% is settled and the remainder is non-productive., 16.9% of the total land area was heavily forested, while 5.2% is covered in small trees and shrubbery. Of the agricultural land, 0.0% is used for farming or pastures, while 2.9% is used for orchards or vine crops and 9.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the settled areas, 0.2% is covered with buildings, 0.1% is industrial, 0.2% is classed as special developments, and 0.8% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.1% is unproductive standing water, 0.9% is unproductive flowing water, 39.3% is too rocky for vegetation, and 21.4% is other unproductive land. The municipality is located above the Reuss along the Gotthard rail line. It consists of the village sections of Dorf, Wiler, Intschi, Arni as well as part of the area on the left side of the Reuss near Amsteg and Silenen.
Demographics
Gurtnellen has a population of., 4.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -8.7%. Most of the population speaks German, with Portuguese being second most common and French being third. the gender distribution of the population was 50.0% male and 50.0% female. In the 2007 federal election the FDPparty received 90.6% of the vote. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gurtnellen about 43.9% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education. Gurtnellen has an unemployment rate of 0.65%., there were 82 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 38 businesses involved in this sector. 64 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 168 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 21 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:
