Page 67 - Bulletin, Vol.83 No.2, September 2024

EINSIEDELN - A MUST-VISIT AND MYSTERIOUS

PLACE !

By Evelina RIOUKHINA

During our monthly meetings at Carrefour international, while discovering in detail
Canton by Canton of Switzerland, it appeared that certain stories and places remain
unvisited and little-known. Following numerous requests to write about interesting
places in Switzerland, I will gradually tell you about the places which aroused the most
interest during our Carrefours. Einsiedeln (Canton of Schwyz) will be first on my list.

If you have never been to Einsiedeln, do not put it off! Just go there ! This place is a
marvel, and it is beautiful in every season. And once you see it, you will definitely come
back. If you have already visited it, I hope to tell you something new and interesting, but
if you do not know about this place, read my story before going there.

While legends indicate that the site was sacred in pre-Christian times, its historical fame
began in the early 9th century. In
835, Saint Meinrad, a young
nobleman who had been a monk
at the monastery of Reichenau,
left the monastery to live a hermit's
life in the forests of northeastern
Switzerland, near Einsiedeln. For
26 years he lived alone with two
tamed crows as his only
companions. In 861, two bandits
came upon Meinrad in his
hermitage and murdered him.
Legends say that Meinrad's two
crows followed the bandits,
hovering and shrieking in a
strange manner, until the bandits
were captured in Zurich, 30 miles
away. To commemorate this fact
of justice and dedication to
Meinrad, and as protector and
guardian of the town, the two
crows can be seen on the Coat of
Arms of Einsiedeln and on its
Abbey.

Einsiedeln Abbey is a monastery administered by the Benedictine Order and is one of
the most powerful abbeys in Europe, and certainly the most powerful and sacred in
Switzerland, it is also the most important Baroque monastic site and largest venue of

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 83 No.2, 2024-09 65

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