Maria Frieden bei Zell-Pfaffenberg was dedicated to peace after the end of the war. The chapel is also a thank you to the Allies. Even schoolchildren dragged bricks up the mountain in July 1945. The history of the origins of the chapel is no less exciting: The Second World War had just ended when the local priest Eugen Thoma developed the idea of building a chapel - on the one hand out of gratitude that the Wiesental was largely spared from destruction when it was liberated by the Allies was, on the other hand, as a memorial to the maintenance of peace. The chapel was to be dedicated to Mary, the "Queen of Peace", and named after her. The plans for the construction of the chapel come from the artist and self-taught Hans Franke, who lived in Freiburg after being expelled from Silesia. After only one year of construction, the opening could be celebrated with a theater performance. Real crowds from all over the valley made the pilgrimage to Pfaffenberg for the inauguration. The impressive altarpiece, which was created in 1945/46, was also made by this artist. It shows the Mother of God with the baby Jesus on her lap in splendid robes in an idealized landscape with a rainbow that stretches far over the Wiesental and the Hohe Möhr. An information board behind the altar by Maria Frieden says that Hans Franke composed a song for the inauguration. The band will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2021 with the song "Madonna over the Wiesental".
Source reference BZ Gerald Nill Zell i. W.