The mausoleum, attached to the chancel of Stadthagen parish church St. Martini, is a domed heptagon in Italian renaissance style designed by Giovanni Maria Nosseni. Four of its walls are furnished with Latin inscribed epitaphs for Prince Ernst, his parents, and his wife, framed by aediculas with Italian marble columns. The central monument by Adriaen de Vries consists of a huge pedestal bearing the cenotaph of Prince Ernst – simultaneously conceived as the tomb of Christ: the cenotaph is surrounded by four drowsing Roman guards, and a larger-than-life figure of Christ triumphant surmounts its top. The dome, painted with fourteen musician angels, represents heaven.
