Einsiedeln Town Hall

Town Hall, Einsiedeln
The current town hall had a few previous buildings that stood further out into the square and were able to be built there with the permission of the abbot. They burned down in 1509, 1577 and 1680. The federal towns had donated coats of arms to the windows.
After the fire in 1680, the forest people immediately set about building a new town hall. It was no longer built on the old site, but on the house square that had been purchased from Thietland Zingg. In doing so, the hermits complied with the monastery's command that "no one has the power to build anything east of the Ochsen house without the permission of the abbot." Despite the unusual levy of a state tax, the forest people's funds were not sufficient to build the town hall, so they turned to the monastery, asking it to cover the costs of the construction; they wanted to pay off the debt by providing wood and paying it off. The hermits performed forced labor. The building was completed in 1689 and now provided space for the administration and the school.
The town hall also housed the fire department and the armory. The school was not moved out of the public building until 1846. Later, the post office and the telephone office moved into the town hall. A comprehensive renovation took place in 1903. The two turrets were added at that time, as well as the roof underlay and the stonemasonry above the doors and windows. Another renovation took place in 1975, which resulted in a complete reorganization of the interior. Coats of arms, old weapons, engravings and paintings are valuable items in the interior design of meeting rooms and offices.
Text / Source: Einsiedeln District Administration
einsiedeln.ch/kultur-leben/portrait/geschichte/das-rathaus

Always worth a visit.

The town hall is easy to reach from the monastery square and looks very nice.