Einsiedeln Monastery, is one of the best places to visit in Einsiedeln. Located in the municipality of the same name in the canton of Schwyz, is a traditional Benedictine abbey and has been a place of culture, education and meeting for over 1000 years. As an important stop on the Way of St. James and the destination of numerous pilgrims, it is now the most important place of pilgrimage in Switzerland.
The central structure of the monastery is Maria Himmelfahrt and St. Mauritius: the abbey and cathedral church, consecrated in 1735, is one of the most important baroque buildings in Switzerland. The east-facing church houses a grace chapel with the famous Black Madonna in the western, octagonal entrance area, which itself attracts many pilgrims and tourists to Einsiedeln.
A monastery church with such historical and religious importance requires a sound system that meets the highest acoustic standards. After all, numerous events take place here regularly – be it performances by the monastery choir, organ concerts or church services. A public address system that is used here must be able to guarantee first-class sound quality and excellent speech intelligibility.
Not an easy undertaking in such a large and reverberant church building, in which the reverberation time is up to seven seconds and smooth surfaces, floors and columns lead to unwanted sound reflections.
In terms of appearance, too, the expectations of such a system could hardly be higher: every loudspeaker system that is installed in the monastery church should not be conspicuous in the splendid, baroque interior of the church – yes, in the best case it should be integrated almost invisibly. Einsiedeln Monastery, is one of the best places to visit in Einsiedeln.
Chapel of Our Lady and Black Madonna
The Chapel of Our Lady represents the heart of the Einsiedeln place of pilgrimage. People from all over the world pray here to the Black Madonna. On entering Einsiedeln Monastery abbey, you find yourself opposite the Chapel of Our Lady fashioned from black marble. It occupies the place where St. Meinrad lived. Built in the 1st century as a “chapel of hermits”.
Splendid apparel
Very early on, Mary and the baby Jesus were draped in textiles that left only their faces and hands exposed. Today they possess a handsome wardrobe with splendid garments and ornaments. They are dressed according to the religious feast of the day.
Chapel of Our Lady
The chapel has burned down several times; it was also destroyed during the French Revolution, but the most valuable parts could be saved from the plundering soldiers. This included the Black Madonna. The chapel was rebuilt in the Classicist style between 1815 to 1817 using demolition material: this is what the visitor admires today.