Description
A central venue of meeting of the monastery community is the baroque abbey. Five times a day monks come together here for a mutual prayer and to celebrate the Holy Mass. Many pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago trail stop by the church when passing through.
We can recommend the daily guided fee-based abbey tours provided by the Einsiedeln Tourism Association, informing visiting guests about architecture, history and life in the monastery.
Historical Information
The monastery
The monastery was founded 1000 years ago with its splendid and centrally located abbey. As many of the originally Romanesque and Gothic buildings were suffering from the ravages of time and with the premises being too small for the growing community, the monastery was extended by a new baroque building in 1704. Nowadays, all different architectural elements of the monastery are blend in together masterfully.
The abbey
The splendid abbey, facing the east, was designed, organised and built by brother Kaspar Moosbrugger. In the period between 1719 and 1735 brothers Asam from Munich created the sprawling stucco ornaments and paintings that still can be seen in the nave. When inside, pay attention to the particularly beautiful Christmas painting in the large dome.
The choir is separated from the nave by the iron choir screen with its three gates.
Interesting facts
- Einsiedeln Abbey is among the 10 best rated Tourist Attractions in Switzerland.
How to get there
By car
You may easily get here by using the motorways taking you via Zurich – Chur and Luzern – Gotthard. There are spacious parking facilities provided in the vicinity of the monastery. Driving on the area of the monastery is strictly forbidden, except for disabled people.
By public transport
In Zurich, there are trains operating every half an hour to Einsiedeln. The journey takes approximately 50 minutes. If you get on the train in Luzern, it'll take you an hour to get to Einsiedeln.
Einsiedeln Abbey is about 15 minutes walking distance from the train station.