Einsiedeln Abbey - The iconic Benedictine Monastery with Black Madonna

Located at a distance of about 32 kilometres from Zurich, the Benedictine Monastery with Black Madonna in Einsiedeln, is a a destination which should certainly not be missed when in Switzerland. This got added to our plan only a day before we actually visited it, but the monastery actually became the highlight of the trip to me.

Read more about Einsiedeln Abbey with Black Madonna below.

The interiors of the Einsiedeln Abbey

The Abbey from outside

It was a lucky day for Deeba and me. It is not often that when you want to visit the largest and oldest Abbey of a country, a father actually receives you at the door and takes you inside and patiently answers all your questions.

However, I had a very basic basic question when I came to the Abbey  - errr…what exactly is an Abbey? I asked around in the car and no one seemed to know for sure. Of course, I have the answer now - an Abbey is a collection of buildings centered around a Church and inhabited by monastics, which means basically monks or nuns live and pray here. Abbeys used to be fairly common a few hundred years back when it was not at all uncommon for families to send one of their sons to become monk. However, after the reformist movement in Switzerland, the country became mainly Protestant, and this common practice with Catholics became rarer. However, even now some men and women give up life as we know it, and take up a life in service to Goa. One such man was father Phillip.

Father Phillip waiting for us

At 29 years, Father Phillip is the youngest of about fifty-five odd monks at the Abbey, and for him also it was a first time to take guests around. Even before we spoke about the abbey, I was extremely curious about him and his life as monk, and thankfully Father answered all my questions with a smile, and even posed for me. Once I knew him well, it became easy to ask him multiple questions about the abbey and the space, and a bit about it’s history as well. We had special permission to actually take pictures inside the abbey and Deeba got busy in taking pictures all around. I just had my iPhone and my GoPro with me, so took far fewer pictures and just collected stories from Father.

Just as the story of Father Phillip was interesting, so was the history of the Abbey as well. Back in the 9th Century the monk St. Meinrad moved out of one of the local monasteries and decided to become a hermit. With him he also took a statue of mother Mary, given to him by Abbess Hildegarde of Zürich, which was believed to have magical powers. With time he became extremely popular with the locals due to his kindness. However, two thieves from the area thought he would have a lot of wealth and murdered him to get it all. A century later his small hermitage was converted in to the Lady Chapel. In fact it is believed that Christ himself came and consecrated the chapel.

The beautiful towers

The Black Madonna is placed inside

The black statue of Madonna with St. Meinrad also became a prominent part of the altar. However, back then it wasn’t black at all, and got it’s black colour due to the soot of the candles burning all around it. At the height of it’s popularity, the Chapel is beloved to have receive almost 50,0000 visitors, and also houses many monks. However, after the Reformation movement, things changed though it still receives about 200,000 visitors every year, making it the most visited Chapel in the whole of Switzerland. 

What not to miss at Einsiedeln?

The Lady Chapel

The most beautiful and the most visited part of the Abbey is the gorgeous basilica of Lady Chapel. The chapel was destroyed by the French in the 18th Century, but rebuilt again a years later. Surrounded by golden clouds, the Black Madonna is certainly a must see. She is believed to be responsible for many miracles and is deeply revered by all pilgrims here. Multiple ceremonies take place around the Madonna almost everyday, but if you miss those, do light a candle and make a wish at least.

The gorgeous ceiling

Another view of the ceiling

The Library

Recently renovated, the library is a small and cozy space which is mostly used by the monks to extend their knowledge and their worldview. I was quite sure that it would primarily be a religious library, but was surprised to know that only about 20 percent of the books are on religion and the rest are about other things - philosophy, science, geography (loads of old maps) and so on.

On the way to the Library...

The Library interiors 

The book of maps - I was in love with it!

The library is not accessible unless you are a monk or a part of a travel group. If you plan to visit the library, make advance arrangements for it.

The Horses' shed

Horses have always been an integral part of the monastery, though now they are no longer used much. The space is used for keeping the horses of the abbey, but also by others who own a horse but do not have space to keep them. It is open to public, but you need to make a request in advance.

Walk walk towards the horse shed

The super cue horse of the Abbey :)

Walk in the village

Einsiedeln is not just famous for the abbey, but the town is also quite a beauty. Do spend at least half an hour walking through the lands of this small town, the pastel coloured buildings will surely impress you :)

Beautifully coloured house in the town

And while you are in town, try and have a meal there as well. Since it is popular place, there are some good food places in town, and it is possible to get some great vegetarian food as well - I know it because that’s what I ate!

To reach:
Kloster Einsiedeln

8840 Einsiedeln

Phone: +41 55 418 61 11

Timings for monastery:

6am to 8.30 pm

And finally me jumping! :)