Einsiedeln has been hosting ski jumping competitions since the early 20th century, and its Grosse Schanze remains an active international venue. The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup has stopped here regularly, and on competition weekends the hill draws a crowd that feels oversized for a town this small.
Outside of competition season, the jump itself is an odd thing to come across in an otherwise quiet valley — a massive concrete and steel structure rising above the treeline. If you are here in late December or January, check the FIS calendar to see if there is a competition scheduled; the atmosphere around the jumping hill on a winter evening, with torches and crowds and the athletes shooting down through the dark, is genuinely memorable.