Marienfigur in der Krypta
Like the apse mosaic, the figure of the Dormition in the center of the crypt is also a work of Brother Radbod Commandeur OSB (Maria Laach).
Daily hundreds of pilgrims kneel around the reclining statue of Mary, who dying looks toward her Son: from the cupola mosaic above her, He waits her with wide-open arms to take her up to heaven body and soul. He is surrounded by six women of the Old Testament, who walked with God in their own way, Eve and Miriam, Ruth and Esther, Jael and Judith.
Originally the gown of the figure of Mary was of chased silver and goldplated. After the war of 1948 and the occupation of the church only the wooden core remained. The ivory hands also had to be replaced and the nose in ivory had to be repaired.
The wars of human beings and their violence toward one another leave their traces also in the faces of the saints. Yet the wounds and needs of human beings have their place with the saints.