Etzel, Mountain summit near Lake Zürich, Switzerland

Etzel is a mountain in the Schwyzer Alps rising to 1,098 meters, positioned between Lake Zürich and Lake Sihl. From the summit, visitors see both lakes and the Alpine peaks that surround the area.

The Etzel is first recorded in 1217 as Eczelin, a name probably derived from the Middle High German etze, meaning pasture. Below the summit, on the pass of the same name, stands the chapel of St. Meinrad, named after the hermit of Einsiedeln. During the Second World War the mountain held bunkers and fortifications forming the Etzel blocking position of the Reduit system; some are maintained by the Schwyzer Festungswerke foundation and can be visited.

The mountain is part of the Via Jacobi pilgrimage route, connecting religious sites between Pfäffikon and Einsiedeln through Etzelpass. Visitors and pilgrims walk these paths today, following routes used for centuries.

Multiple hiking paths lead to the summit, with the most direct route starting from the Büel parking area above Schindellegi village. Routes are well marked and take about one to two hours depending on where you begin.

The summit inn was built in 1963–1965 by architect Heinrich Kübler after the cooperative Hoch-Etzel, founded in 1962 on an appeal by the SAC Hoher Rohn section, bought the peak with money from over a thousand supporters. The mountain also gave its name to the 1934-built MV Etzel, preserved on Lake Zurich, and to a Stadler FLIRT unit of Südostbahn.