issue feature
Places You've Never Been

 
I have to make a confession. I lived and worked in Cullman. Since moving back to Birmingham, I’ve visited St. Bernard Abbey for the city’s annual arts and crafts festival, and I’ve attended a church women’s retreat at Sacred Heart Monastery. 
 
But until recently, I had never visited Ave Maria Grotto, the city’s best-known attraction and a draw for visitors from around the globe. (The week I visited, guests from the Netherlands, Switzerland and England had signed the registry.) Despite my tardiness, the “Jerusalem in miniature” constructed by Benedictine Monk Brother Joseph Zoettl was worth the visit.

The four-acre park features 125 reproductions of many of the Christian faith’s historic sites, including Bethlehem, Gethsemane and the Roman coliseum, intermingled with reproductions of shrines, churches, the Statue of Liberty and whimsical creations like Hansel and Gretel Visit the Temple of the Fairies.

Many of the miniatures are curious conglomerations of materials. The Temple of the Fairies incorporates a dozen cold cream jars. Shrine walls are made from bathroom tiles. Numerous buildings use shells and colored marbles. This is as much a peaceful park as it is a curiosity.

A collection of Roman miniatures— truly the most striking, detailed section of the Grotto—is bordered by a garden and fountain. Also make time to visit the Abbey Church and cemetery. Both of those, plus the Grotto’s garden, offer a relaxing place to sit and contemplate history, faith and the construction of this unusual project.

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