Ave Maria Grotto - Cullman, AL - the world's religious history is brought to life

Located in Cullman, Alabama the Ave Maria Grotto is a four acre landscaped park in the St. Bernard Abbey's old quarry grounds. One hundred and twenty-five miniature reproductions of the world's most recognizable religious structures can be found in the garden setting. February 24, 1976 the garden was put on Alabama's Register of Landmarks and Heritage and during January of 1984 it was put on the National Register of Historic Places.

A Benedictine monk of St. Bernard's, Brother Joseph Zoettl, created the concrete and stone models of the Ave Maria Grotto over fifty years; the years from 1931 until 1961 he was able to work uninterrupted. The creations are made with parts of discarded cold cream jars, plastic animals, marbles, sea shells, costume jewelry, bricks, tiles and other discarded building materials.

Brother Joseph was born in the Bavarian Kingdom during 1878 and got a hunchback when he had an accident that maimed him. When he was a teenager he immigrated to the U.S. and settled in northern Alabama. Shortly after he settled he started to study at St. Bernard's Benedictine monastery and in 1897 he took his vows there. Withdrawn and quiet even by the standards of a monk he ran the power plant at the monastery and rarely left the state up until he died during 1961.

The Ave Maria Grotto's displays are spread out on the winding forested trail past a number of buildings in the steep hillside. Roman Catholic monasteries and cathedrals including the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Monte Casino Abby and St. Peter's Basilica in addition to scenes depicting ancient Jerusalem are the main features of the displays. Scenes and buildings from the Holy Land are featured on half of the hillside.

There are some pagan temples and secular buildings on display at the garden as well. There are South African shrines, the power station for St. Bernard Abbey, Spanish missions, and Hansel and Gretel's Temple of the Fairies among the displays. The various attempts that people have made to build towers to the heavens are shown with an image of the Tower of Babel close to the where the path starts. Brother Joseph's thankfulness for the amount of support that he got while he was building the sculptures is shown with the Tower of Thanks near the end of the trail.

The Ave Marie Grotto located at 1600 St. Bernard Drive SE is open each day from nine in the morning until six in the evening from April through September. During the months of October through March the facility opens at nine in the morning and closes at five in the evening. Regular rates for admission are $7 for adults, $4.50 for those aged six to twelve and $5 for senior citizens. Those aged six and below are admitted free with an adult.

The rates for admission to the Bloomin' Festival held during the month of April are $2. The rates for group admission are $5 for adults and seniors, $4 for high school students and $4 for elementary students.