Nikolaus Locherer, dean and later treasurer of the Freiburg district chapter, was buried in the unfinished chapel in 1513. The significant 'Schutzmantel' altarpiece depicting the Virgin of Mercy is part of the chapel's original furnishings and is still in its original location in the chapel today.
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Nikolaus and Johannes Locherer
Nikolaus Locherer († 1513), the chapel’s first owner, as well as Dean and Treasurer in the Landkapitel (deanery) of Freiburg, was laid to rest in the still unfinished chapel. His cousin Johannes Locherer († 1541), who was also buried in the chapel, was a priest, took care of the finishing of the chapel and contributed to the cost of the furnishings.
The stained glass windows
The stained-glass windows (ca. 1520, Hans Baldung Grien design) display the patron saints of the donor family.
The left-hand window shows St Anthony being harassed and tormented by demons. Below this is the Locherer coat of arms with the shell and the three pilgrim's staffs.
In this window, the holy Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux kneels to receive the body of Christ from the cross.
The vision of St John the Evangelist on Patmos is shown. The Madonna as Woman of the Apocalypse appears to him in a mandorla.
In the right-hand window you can see St Martin on a white horse. At his feet is the beggar with whom he will share the cloak. The design for this window was probably created by Hans Baldung Grien.
The Virgin of Mercy
Among the original furnishings of the chapel was the altarpiece depicting the Virgin of Mercy (Schutzmantelmadonna). Made of lime wood by the Upper-Rhenish artist Sixt von Staufen between 1521 and 1525. This structure is one of the few almost entirely intact Late Gothic carved altarpieces: the Madonna with protective mantle depiction in the central shrine, with the clerical (on the left) and worldly (right) estates assembled under her long veil, is framed by the family’s patron saints. Christ holding the globe high above crowns the altarpiece.
The meaning of Mary's cloak
The protective cloak symbolises warmth and safety. In Marian worship, it was also associated with the forgiveness of sins and protected against disaster and war.
The Locherer coat of arms in the chapel
Statue of Archbishop Johann Baptist Orbin
The statue of the Archbishop Johann Baptist Orbin († 1886, interred in the north aisle) by the Freiburg sculptor Gustav Adolf Knittel, was not moved into the chapel until 1936. The Baroque confessional was installed in the 1950s.
Epitaph and tomb slab of the lawyer Jakob Streit
Later additions to the chapel include the grave slab in front of the altar and, on the left, the epitaph to the jurist Jakob Streit († 1601), which features a medallion with a crucifix at the top and the coat of arms of the deceased at the bottom.
