Dickeyville Grotto- A Shrine made of Glass, Shells, Fossils, Wood and Stones

Hidden away in Dickeyville, Wisconsin is this awesome handbuilt Grotto. The Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines erected in the Village of Dickeyville, Wisconsin on Holy Ghost Parish grounds located at 305 W Main Street are the works of Father Matthias Wernerus, a Catholic Priest, Pastor of the Parish from 1918 to 1931. His handiwork in stone, built from 1925-1930, is dedicated to the unity of two great American ideals-love of God and love of Country. These religious and patriotic shrines were constructed without the use of blueprints.

It is a creation in stone, mortar and bright colored objects-collected materials from all over the world. These include colored glass, gems, antique heirlooms of pottery or porcelain, stalagmites and stalactites, sea shells, starfish, petrified sea urchins and fossils, and a variety of corals, amber glass, agate, quartz, ores, such as iron, copper and lead, fool's gold, rock crystals, onyx, amethyst and coal, petrified wood.

You can read more about the Dickeyville Grotto here.

Here are some pictures I took.

Grave of Father Matthias Wernerus, a Catholic Priest, Pastor of the Parish, the builder of The Grotto.