The
town of Einsiedeln itself is quite unremarkable - but the
main point of interest and a major place of pilgramage is
the colossal Benedictine monastry. The 150-meter façade
dominates the square at the top of the town and the interior
is no less impressive.
Firmly in the Baroque style of architecture, the façade boasts a convex central section which, similar in style to the baroque Collegial Church in Salzburg, and equally essential to the overall visual effect and impression.
The interior is no less impressive. The principles of a "unified space" so crucial to the philosophy of the Baroque period have been carefully appllied in the basilica-style layout and broad nave with small well-lit aisles.
The
Marian shrine is of signifcant importance and the well which
is the source of the water of the fountain in the forecourt
of the monastry is said to srping directly from underneath
the Shrine of the Black Madonna.
