Einsiedeln AbbeyEinsiedeln Abbey (German: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Catholic monastery administered by the Benedictine Order in the village of Einsiedeln, Switzerland. The Abbey of Einsiedeln is one of the most important baroque monastic sites and the largest place of pilgrimage in Switzerland. The Black Madonna of Einsiedeln in the Chapel of Grace attracts around 800,000 pilgrims and tourists every year. The community of Benedictine monks has around 40 members.Canton of SchwyzThe canton of Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on and named after the town of Schwyz. It is one of the founding cantons of Switzerland; Switzerland's name is derived from the name of the canton, and the flag of Switzerland from its coat of arms. For the history of the name, see Schwyz. The Swiss Federal Charter is on display in Schwyz.
Meinrad of EinsiedelnMeinrad (Latin: Meinradus, Mainradus; c. 797 – 21 January 861 AD) was a German hermit and is revered as a Catholic and Orthodox saint. He is known as the "Martyr of Hospitality." His feast day is 21 January. LifeMeinrad was born into the family of the Counts of Hohenzollern and was educated at the abbey school of Reichenau, an island in Lake Constance, under his kinsmen, the Benedictine Abbots Hatto and Erlebald. There he became a monk and was ordained a priest.
ParacelsusTheophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (10 November 1493 – 24 September 1541), known as Paracelsus, was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He was a pioneer in several aspects of the medical revolution of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom. He is credited as the "father of toxicology".
High, middle and low justiceHigh, middle and low justices is a distinction drawn to describe descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents dating back to Western feudalism. The scale of punishment generally matched the scale of spectacle (e.g. a public hanging was high justice).
Districts of SwitzerlandDistricts of Switzerland are a political subdivision for cantons. In the federally constituted Switzerland, each canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed districts. Most cantons are divided into Bezirke (German for districts, singular Bezirk).
House of HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern (, US also ; German: Haus Hohenzollern, pronounced; Romanian: Casa de Hohenzollern) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family came from the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the late 11th century and took their name from Hohenzollern Castle.Municipalities of SwitzerlandMunicipalities (German: Gemeinden, Einwohnergemeinden or politische Gemeinden; French: communes; Italian: comuni; Romansh: vischnancas) are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons, which form the Swiss Confederation. In most cantons, municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions. There are 2,110 municipalities as of January 2026.
Hermitage (religious retreat)A hermitage most authentically refers to a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, or a building or settlement where a person or a group of people live religiously, in seclusion. Particularly, as a name or part of the name of properties its meaning is often imprecise, harking to a distant period of local history, components of the building material, or recalling any former sanctuary or holy place.
SwitzerlandCountry in Central Europe Swiss Confederation Name in official languages and Latin German:Schweizerische EidgenossenschaftFrench:Confédération suisseItalian:Confederazione SvizzeraRomansh:Confederaziun svizraLatin:Confoederatio helvetica Flag Coat of arms Motto: (unofficial)"Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno""One for all, all for one"Anthem: "Swiss Psalm"Show globeShow map of EuropeLocation of Switzerland (green)in Europe (green and dark grey)CapitalNone (de jure); Bern (de facto)Federal cityBernLargest cityZurichOfficial languagesGerman (62%), French (23%), Italian (8%), Romansh (0.5%)Nationality (2024)72.6% Swiss27.4% foreign nationalsReligion (2024) 54.7% Christianity 30% Catholicism 18.7% Protestantism 6% other Christian 36.8% no religion 6% Islam 1.5% other religions 0.9% unanswered DemonymsEnglish: SwissGerman: Schweizer/SchweizerinFrench: Suisse/SuissesseItalian: svizzero/svizzera or elvetico/elveticaRomansh: Svizzer/SvizraGovernmentFederal assembly-independent directorial republic• Federal Councillors Guy Parmelin (President)Ignazio Cassis (Vice president)Karin Keller-SutterAlbert RöstiÉlisabeth Baume-SchneiderBeat JansMartin Pfister• Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi LegislatureFederal Assembly• Upper houseCouncil of States• Lower houseNational CouncilHistory• Founded 1 August 1291• Sovereignty recognised (Peace of Westphalia) 24 October 1648• Federal Treaty 7 August 1815• Federal state 12 September 1848 Area • Total41,291 km2 (15,943 sq mi) (132nd)• Water (%)4Population• 2026 estimate 9,154,242 (99th)• 2015 census 8,327,126• Density207/km2 (536.1/sq mi) (67th)GDP (PPP)2026 estimate• Total $960.599 billion (37th)• Per capita $105,680 (6th)GDP (nominal)2026 estimate• Total $1.147 trillion (20th)• Per capita $126,177 (3rd)Gini (2023) 31.5medium inequalityHDI (2023) 0.970very high (2nd)CurrencySwiss franc (CHF)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)• Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Date formatdd.mm.yyyy (AD)Calling code+41ISO 3166 codeCHInternet TLD.ch, .swiss Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located at the intersection of Central, Western, and Southern Europe.
ZurichLargest city in SwitzerlandMunicipality in SwitzerlandZurich (German: Zürich; Alemannic German: Züri; see below) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. As of the end of 2024, the municipality had a population of 436,551, while the urban area was home to 1.45 million people (2020), and the Zurich metropolitan area had a total population of 2.1 million (2020).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.