EINSIEDELN, a town in the canton of Schwyz, in Switzerland, situated in the valley of the Sihl, eight miles N.N.E. of Schwyz. The Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln, founded about the middle of the 9th century, was several times partially or wholly destroyed by fire. The present edifice, in the Italian style, was erected in 1704-19, and stands at an elevation of 2985 feet above sea-level. It contains a library of 40,000 volumes, 1190 manuscripts, and 1015 incunabula, and in connection with it are a priests’ seminary, a gymnasium, and a lyceum. The emperors Otto the Great and Henry II. made valuable presents to the abbey, and in 1274 Rudolf of Hapsburg created the abbot a prince. The treasury was plundered by the French in 1798. The abbey has for centuries been noted for its sacred image of the Virgin, which brings to it yearly an average of 150,000 pilgrims, chiefly on the 14th of September. Most of the buildings of Einsiedeln are inns for the entertainment of the pilgrims, with whom the inhabitants traffic in missals, sacred pictures, rosaries, crucifixes, and medallions. The Reformer Zwingli preached at Einsiedeln in 1516-18, and not far from the town is the house where Paracelsus is said to have been born. Population about 7650.