Switzerland Guide
Zentralschweiz
Einsiedeln
The small village of Einsiedeln has been Switzerland's most important site of pilgrimage for a thousand years, and still draws a quarter of a million devout believers every year. The village itself is unremarkable, but the mighty Benedictine Kloster (monastery) which dominates it is exceptional.
The monastery complex is built in the most lavish of late-Baroque styles. As you emerge from the cluster of the village centre, the vast Klosterplatz opens out in front. The rather plain sandstone front of the church, with its twin towers rising from an immense 140m-long facade, is framed by unusual semi-circular sunken arcades. The ornate Well of Our Lady in the square taps the water of Meginrat's spring – pilgrims traditionally drink from each of the 14 spouts in turn on their approach to the church.
The interior, designed by Kaspar Moosbrugger, one of the monks, is breathtaking. The nave is decorated with detailed frescoes by Cosmas Damian Asam, and every part of the lofty white interior is detailed in lavish gold. An intricate wrought-iron choir screen gives into the stunning pink Rococo choir, its ceiling bedecked with animated sculptures of angels. However, the focus of all the pilgrims' attention is the black marble Chapel of Our Lady, positioned in a huge octagonal bay just inside the main portal. The Black Madonna itself, a little over a metre tall and usually dressed in a jewelled and tasselled golden dress, stands illuminated within at the centre of attention.
Einsiedeln remains a fully functioning monastic community ( 
www.kloster-einsiedeln.ch ), with around a hundred priests and brothers. Mass is celebrated several times a day.