Grotto of the Redemption

This spring while Larry and I were in Iowa visiting Janice we took a day trip to see the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. It is an incredible achievement of one Catholic Priest that started as a simple promise. In the early 1900's a young priest in Germany was about to be ordained when he was stricken with pneumonia. As he lay there, possibly dying, he made a promise to the Virgin Mary that if he survived, he would build a shrine to her.

He survived...and fulfilled his promise....and then some!

He was sent to a small town in Iowa and enjoyed traveling around the United States. A fairly common activity in those days was to collect gems, crawling inside caves, or finding them in fields, wherever they were available. Father Dobberstein collected all kinds of gems and gorgeous pieces of petrified rock, sending them home, by rail or by freight, whatever way was available. In 1912 he began his shrine to the Virgin Mary. And when that was done, he kept going!

This is a tiny corner of a large wall covered in petrified rock.

The grotto was built to resemble caves in a mountain side. Each cave depicts an aspect of Christ's life, from his birth to his crucifixion. The entire thing is covered in gems..... $4,000,000.00 (that's millions!) worth of gems, and petrified rock! It is quite a sight to see.

White quartz pieces were used to create the illusion of snow capped mountains. In some places he used the green glass of broken coke bottles to depict flowing mountain streams.

Wandering through the display gives me the illusion of walking the streets of Jerusalem, although I've never been to Jeruslem. Displays were in caves set into the walls.

Rose quartz and other rock minerals and gems cover this stairwell.

The Manger scene is just an example of one of many grottos. The ceiling is mostly petrified rock.

There were several other scenes. The garden of Gethsemane was beautiful. The 2 disciples were tucked into corners, sleeping. Another big focus were the Stations of the Cross.

The Grotto of the Redemption is an unusual tourist attraction, but well-worth the trip. Since there was plenty of room to run, even the kids liked it. Next time you are near West Bend, Iowa, take a few hours to see this one-of-a-kind place.