Einsiedeln Abbey

Einsiedeln is a working Benedictine monastery in a broad upland valley, and its church is one of the most important baroque buildings in the country, the centrepiece of the largest baroque monastery in Switzerland: a wide facade with two towers, an interior of white and gold stucco, ceiling frescoes running the length of the nave, and a black stone chapel just inside the doors holding the dark Madonna that pilgrims come for. The monastery has been here for over a thousand years, rebuilt repeatedly, and the community still farms, teaches at its school and keeps a stud farm of horses that is among the oldest in Europe. The square in front fills with pilgrims through the summer.

What you actually see

• The abbey church - baroque stucco and ceiling paintings across the full length of the nave.
• The Chapel of Grace - the dark marble chapel inside the entrance with the black Madonna.
• The square and fountain - the arcaded forecourt where pilgrim groups gather.
• The stud farm - the monastery's horses, bred here for centuries, in stables beside the abbey.

When to go

Open year round, and the church is a good wet-weather choice. Pilgrimage days and feast days bring large crowds and long services; ordinary weekday mornings are calm. The monks sing vespers daily in the late afternoon, which is the best time to hear the building. Winter here is cold and snowy at this altitude.

Honest expectations

It is an active monastery and a place of prayer first, so parts are closed, photography is restricted and services interrupt visits. The town around it is plain and largely given to devotional shops. Anyone unmoved by baroque decoration will find one very ornate room and little else, and the journey from Zurich takes about an hour each way.

Nearby

The Sihlsee reservoir lies just outside town, and the Schwyz uplands have walking routes from the abbey.