Around 1900, the sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) was widespread near the lakes of Central Switzerland. It was mainly cultivated as a fruit tree. Today the tree has lost its economic importance, but it is still a beautiful landscape element. ENGLER (1900) found a wide distribution of the sweet chestnut on the south-western slopes of the Urmiberg. These chestnuts had largely disappeared by 1958 (FURRER 1958). In 1999 the occurrence of the sweet chestnut was mapped on the Urmiberg and compared with maps made by ENGLER (1900) and FURRER (1958). The results show that the sweet chestnut has disappeared from the open land on the Urmiberg with the exception of one tree at Hebleren. Today several tree groups are to be found to the west of the study area at the edge of the forest and in the forest along the Bärenfallenweg and near Schroten-Dörfli. Only two trees were found with a dbh > 1 m; the majority had dbhs between 10 and 40 cm. All the trees were healthy and showed no signs of chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica). For the future preservation of the sweet chestnut, special care and management needs to be applied.