Black Maddona
 

I have heard about this church near zug(Einsiebell). Can some tell me more about it and what is the significance about this church. Some one said that there is a fountain outside the church the water of which has magical powers

Here some links to the abbey:

http://www.kloster-einsiedeln.ch/

http://www.diorama.ch/einsiedeln/english.htm

and for the surrounding area:

http://www.einsiedeln.ch/default-e.htm

I don't know about the water but then I am not a catholic;-)

Is there more than one ? we saw one outside of Barcelona up in the hills (defective memory can't recall the name !)

Yes, there's a Black Madonna in Prague as well

Marko, there are many. I think all are subjects of a lot of studies by historians and scholars of folk culture.

I was just reading the Michelin guide for Auvergne and there are several Black Virgins in that area as well.

Anselm

Also in many towns in Italy, for example, in Tindari and other towns in Sicily. There's a famous one in Poland, I think.

And don't forget the Black Virgin in Stes. Maries de la Mer - the patron saint of the gypsies. Festival coming up next month if I am not mistaken...
-Kevin

I believe there's a black madonna in Venice too...is it in Santa Maria della Salute?

Back in the early 90s I dated a girl named Madonna Black. She certainly wasn't a virgin, but she did have magical powers.

There is indeed a Black Maddona in Poland - Our Lady of Czestochowa - and has become a very well-known and important Polish religious icon.

The story behind this painting - the Madonna with "scars" across her right cheek, is this:
Tradition has it that St. Luke the Evangelist painted two pictures of the Virgin Mary on a tabletop once used by the Holy Family. One icon eventually made to Italy’s Bologna. Emperor Constantine brought the other from Jerusalem to Constantinople, and some 600 years later it was awarded to Prince Lev of Rus for his military services. In the 14th century a Polish prince, Wladislaw of Opole, found the icon in the Belz castle while he was battling the Tatars who had conquered neighbouring Rus, and he entrusted the holy image to the Pauline monks in Czestochowa. On April 14, 1430, at Easter, Bohemian robbers looted the Jasna Góra monastery, slashed Our Lady’s cheek with swords, and by the account of the 1523 "Historia Pulchra"– left the holy image on the floor, broken in three. Over time, the Jasna Góra monastery in Czestochowa became a monastic fortress and focal point of Polish nationalism.
In 1655 the monastery held out against a mighty Swedish army. In 1683 it was the Turks and in 1920 the Bolsheviks. As a result, Our Lady of Czestochowa was crowned as Queen of Poland (feast day is May 3).
Art historians believe Our Lady of Czestochowa was initially a Byzantine icon of the Hodigitria type, dated from the 6th to 9th centuries.

I just did a quick Google search in English that turned up many articles on this topic. You can find more if you search in some other languages. Here are just a few:

http://www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/blackmdn.html

http://altreligion.about.com/library...ackvirgins.htm

http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/madonnas.html

The Einsiedeln church is huge. It's a monastary and the inside of the church has been recently renovated. You walk inside and see lots of gold and pink. If you are in the area, it's well worth a visit. I've heard of the magic water but people around here really don't believe in it. The black Madonna is located in the back of the church. It's black because of a fire that it was in. Lots of people go to Einsiedeln to pray to it.

If you can't make it to Poland to see the real Black Madonna, there is a replica in the church atop Kahlenberg just outside Vienna. That is the place where Polish general Jan Sobieski led in the final repulsion of the Turks outside Vienna in 1683. This was considered a miracle since the Polish troops were so outnumbered.
They attributed this to the intercession of the Blessed Mother.
It was after this event that the Baroque period of architecture and the Classical period in music began to really flourish in Vienna, not to mention the popularity of croissants and coffee.

AND there is a black Madonna in Spain as well. On Mt Monserrat near Barcelona.

I think there is a black Madonna at Chartres also. I've been to Einsiedeln and would recommend a visit. The church is beautiful and there are some walking paths nearby so you can see the church and monastery from above.

There is of course lady madonna...children at her feet, but I think she's still in Liverpool.

As schuler says, the church in Einsiedeln which houses the black Madonna is huge and quite ornate and IMO is one of the best examples of baroque church architecture I have seen outside of Vienna. The Madonna is in its own shrine in the front part of the church in its own covered shrine (schuler, I was just there on Palm Sunday). The monastery has its own winery and sells pretty good and inexpensive wine, and their shop is open on Sunday, a rare thing in Switzerland. The monastery is also known for the hardy breed of horses they raise and there are stables. The countryside is pretty rolling hills and has some good walks. The town has a small old town area worth a quick stroll. In the summer months, there are often outdoor concerts in the plaza in front of the church, check one of the above websites.

Einsiedeln is about an hour by train from Zug. It is about 30 minutes by car from Zurich, you can also take a train from Zurich in about an hour. Go to rail.ch for schedules.

And if you can't make it to Europe, there is a shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA with a replica of the shrine at Jasna Gora. There is also a cemetary with a very moving tribute to Polish soldiers.