The Grotto of Redemption, West Bend, Iowa 

From a block away, the Grotto of the Redemption looks like a miniature fortress of gray stone. Up close, the fortress becomes a formation of small caverns, and it is easy to see the stones aren’t gray at all but are a mosaic of bright colors and patterns. The hodgepodge of materials that make up the Grotto of the Redemption have been collected from all over the United States and brought to the small town of West Bend, Iowa.

A grotto is a small, picturesque cave, usually man-made, and in West Bend sits the largest grotto in the world. Covering one city block and reaching 40 feet at its highest point, the Grotto of the Redemption is also the largest assortment of minerals and petrified wood in one place.

When visitors enter the Grotto they can walk around to small caves and admire rows of sparkling geodes or symmetrical designs of pink, green, dark purple, gold and brown rocks. The Grotto was assembled piece by piece out of precious and semi-precious stones, shells, petrified wood and cave formations. 

It was constructed with such precision that it is impossible to see any of the cement mixture used to hold the materials together — the crystals, rocks and gems look like they are growing right out of the walls. The Christmas Chapel in the Catholic church right next to the Grotto even includes a bright purple Brazilian amethyst weighing more than 300 pounds.

A Promise Set in Stone

Rhonda Miller, the executive director of the Grotto, said one of the most interesting aspects of her job has been learning the history of the creation of the Grotto. Her position gives her a chance to appreciate the effort it took to become what it is.

The artist of the Grotto was Father Paul Dobberstein. He immigrated to the United States from Germany and became dangerously sick with pneumonia in 1893, a time when such illnesses were likely to cause death. Although odds were against him, he prayed to the Virgin Mary, promising to build a monument in tribute to her if she spared his life.

Miraculously, he survived, and he kept his word by dedicating the remainder of his life to building the spectacular shrine in West Bend, Iowa, where he had been assigned.

There’s an advantage to the Grotto’s remote location – its isolation protects it from graffiti and other potential menaces.
“It is a blessing it isn’t in a big city because it wouldn’t exist,” Miller said.

Before construction began in 1912, Father Dobberstein traveled all over the United States, bringing trainloads of minerals back to West Bend. He got donations and help from communities he visited, gathering conch shells from the West Coast, stalactites and stalagmites from caves in Black Hills, South Dakota, and geodes from riverbeds in southeast Iowa.

Father Dobberstein assembled most of the Grotto with his own hands and without modern tools. Miller said it is remarkable to think about what he went through to create the Grotto, especially considering the skill and concentration it takes to evenly split open just one geode and set each piece into its rightful place.

The two men who assisted Father Dobberstein and continued working to complete the Grotto after his death in 1954 were Father Louis Greving, his primary successor, and Matt Szerensce, a parishioner and friend. There was no master plan or blueprint for the Grotto, so they had to rely on Father Dobberstein’s vision as he explained it.

Not Just for Show

The magnificent impression created by the stones and gems of the Grotto is reason enough to visit, but the real purpose of its creation extends beyond geological grandeur. Like its name implies, the Grotto of the Redemption tells the Christian story of salvation: the fall of mankind, deliverance through Christ and the Virgin Mary’s presence.

The Grotto is known as a silent sermon in stone, and those who know or want to know the Christian story can discover meaning in the symbolic patterns, inscriptions and ornamentations. 

However, the Grotto was not built for any specific audience. It has universal appeal. From an artistic perspective, there is much to appreciate in the detail and in the conception of such a project, and with an estimated geological value of more than $4 million, it will surely spark the interest of any geology buff. Susanne Reding has visited the Grotto several times and said it has spiritual as well as geological appeal. Reding grew up near West Bend and said she visited as a child and now goes because it gives her peace.

“I love the grotto because it’s such a serene place — you can spend as little or as much time there, and you can always see something there that you didn’t see before,” she said.

Something tourists will notice right away is life-sized solid white statues, which stand in stark contrast to the multicolored Grotto walls. They display scenes from the Bible. The statues were commissioned by Father Dobberstein in the 1940s and are made of Carrara marble from Carrara, Italy.

This is the same location Michelangelo acquired marble for his famous statues, said Ilene Drown, who has been a tour guide at the Grotto for more than 10 years.

“It’s said to be the finest and hardest marble for carving,” she said.

Miller said it was fortunate the Grotto was built when it was because certain materials would be hard to obtain if a similar task were taken up today. Situated like a steeple, a giant stalactite from the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico hangs above one of the grottos. It could be donated to the Grotto because the caverns were privately owned at the time. At present this would be impossible because the caverns are now a national park.

“All the money in the world couldn’t make this today,” Miller said.

After walking through the Grotto, most visitors want to see the Grotto Museum, which has collections of more rock and semi-precious stones, all donated or collected from around the United States. The museum also provides artifacts from the early building of the Grotto and information about its history.

“People are spending more and more time in the museum,” Miller said. “With the passage of time there is more appreciation for how [building the Grotto] was accomplished.”
Among the artifacts are old tools used to build the Grotto, pictures of its construction and even photographs of the time when Father Dobberstein brought live bears to the Grotto to draw crowds.

At that time in 1952, more than 75,000 people traveled to West Bend to see the Grotto.

Prime Time for Visiting

Although the snowcapped surfaces give the Grotto a solemn and majestic feel in the winter, the natural colors of spring and summer reflect sunlight off the rocks and bring in the crowds.

Miller said the Grotto usually has 35,000 to 40,000 visitors a year, and last year they welcomed people from 49 states and more than 40 countries. 

Like many, Reding said she loves to see the Grotto in the summer months.

“When the weather’s nicer, you’re tempted to stay out longer and enjoy it more … You get the whole experience,” she said. “You’re not only getting to enjoy the beauty of the rocks, but you also get to enjoy being outside.”

The Grotto of the Redemption has had some recent publicity that is bringing more people to West Bend. In 2005 it was featured on the History Channel’s program “Weird U.S.,” where it was called “one of the most amazing examples of religious devotion here in America.” It was also recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.

“It’s just not something you’re going to see anywhere, and it’s really a work of art,” Reding said.

The glittering crystals and colorful intricacies of this unique structure keep visitors coming back year after year.