In 1720, Prince-Bishop Johan Anton Knebel von Katzenellenbogen had a statue of the Madonna, which was soon highly revered, erected on the site of the current chapel, which was initially only protected from the weather by a wooden roof and wooden walls.
It was not until Bishop Johann Anton von Freyberg that the chapel, consecrated in 1751, was built between 1738 and 1739. It is considered the work of Gabriel de Gabrieli.
The graceful chapel is located high above the city with a wonderful view of the city. Its simple exterior is characterized by the mansard hipped roof and the restrained wall structure. Today's sacristan's house adjoining it to the east was originally built as a modest hermitage and only later expanded.
The small, rectangular interior with rounded corners has a charming double dome with indirect lighting, which Gabrieli was perhaps inspired to do by the Asam brothers' monastery church at Weltenburg, which was built between 1716 and 1718. The room, flooded with light, opens to the east to a semicircular altar niche, in which the baroque image, which was strongly modified in the 19th and 20th centuries, is located.
The lower dome is adorned with early Rococo stucco work by Franz Xaver Horneis. On the lower dome vault on the east side, two coats of arms and inscriptions refer to the bishops Johann Anton I and Johann Anton II as the founder and builder of the chapel. The fresco cycle on the life and veneration of Mary was created in 1739 by the painter Joseph Dietrich.
It is open during the day and can be viewed.
Source (Dr. Claudia Grund)