From Zurich
Einsiedeln and its abbey
A hermit in 835, a monastery in 934, and eight hundred thousand visitors a year.
Loop
102 km
Driving time only
1 h 38
Suggested hire
4 h
From
400 CHF
Einsiedeln is the largest pilgrimage site in Switzerland. A hermit named Meinrad settled there in 835; the Benedictine monastery was founded in 934. The present complex was entirely rebuilt in Vorarlberg Baroque between 1719 and 1735.
The Black Madonna in the Chapel of Grace dates from the 15th century, and it is what draws around 800,000 visitors and pilgrims each year. You can come without being a believer: the architecture is enough.
The loop runs 102 kilometres for an hour forty of driving out of four. We drive and we wait.
The itinerary
La montée vers le plateau schwytzois
Fifty kilometres from the airport, motorway then country road. You leave the Zurich conurbation in twenty minutes and the landscape changes entirely.
L'abbaye
A Benedictine abbey, and the largest pilgrimage site in Switzerland. A hermit, Meinrad, settled there in 835; the monastery was founded in 934. The complex was entirely rebuilt in Vorarlberg Baroque between 1719 and 1735.
La Vierge noire
In the Chapel of Grace, at the entrance to the church. The statue dates from the 15th century and it is what draws the pilgrims: around 800,000 visitors and pilgrims a year.
Le retour
An hour. The full loop runs 102 kilometres for an hour forty of driving out of four: two hours remain on the ground, which matches the visit.
km included : 100 km
The kilometres below are measured from the airport. Starting from a hotel in town, or from another town, changes the loop and therefore the count: the quote is adjusted to your actual pickup point.
Four hours, or six if you eat
An hour forty of driving leaves two hours on the ground, which matches a visit to the abbey. If you want lunch in the village without watching the clock, take six hours: we say so beforehand.
A working place of worship
The abbey is a living monastery, not a museum. Services and times of prayer take precedence over visitors, and some parts are not open. We tell you rather than letting you find out at the door.
Drivable all year
No pass: motorway then maintained country road. The site is if anything more striking under snow, and far quieter than in August.
Frequently asked questions
From 400 CHF in an E-Class for four hours of hire, 560 CHF in an S-Class and 520 CHF in a V-Class. The loop runs 102 kilometres, under the 100 included: no supplement.
A hermit, Meinrad, settled on the site in 835; the Benedictine monastery was founded in 934. The present complex dates from the Baroque rebuilding carried out between 1719 and 1735, in the Vorarlberg style.
A 15th-century statue kept in the Chapel of Grace at the entrance to the abbey church. It is the object of the pilgrimage, which draws around 800,000 visitors and pilgrims a year.
No. It is Switzerland's largest baroque monastic complex and is visited for the architecture as much as the faith. The abbey remains a working monastery: services take precedence and some parts are not open.
For the visit, yes: an hour forty of driving leaves two hours on the ground. If you want lunch in the village, take six hours.
Yes, no pass on the route: motorway then maintained country road. The site is if anything finer under snow and far quieter.
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