Einsiedeln (Place of the Hermits), town in central Switzerland, in Schwyz Canton, on the Alpbach stream, 887 m (2910 ft) above sea level, near Zürich. The town was originally the Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln, which thousands of pilgrims have visited annually since the Middle Ages to worship before the statue of the Blessed Virgin, kept in the chapel of the abbey. The statue, to which miraculous powers have been ascribed, was donated by the Abbess St. Hildegard. Einsiedeln was originally under the protection of the counts of Rapperswil. The old pilgrims' way leads over Etzel Pass (959 m/3146 ft above sea level) from Rapperswil on Lake Zürich. The monastery was destroyed or damaged by fire four times before the 17th century. The present buildings, dating from the early 18th century, are in the Italian style and are surrounded by walls. The monastery was plundered by French troops in 1798. Einsiedeln is the birthplace of the 16th-century physician Paracelsus. Population (1998) 12,240.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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