A Miracle in Stone

By Linda Tancs

Touted as the largest man-made grotto in the world, Iowa’s Grotto of the Redemption is a religious shrine comprising nine grottos adorned with a vast collection of building materials, including petrified wood, malachite, azurite, agates, geodes, jasper, quartz, topaz, calcite, stalactites and stalagmites. Located in West Bend, it represents the lifelong work of Father Paul Dobberstein and is included in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum features tools used by Father Dobberstein in the construction of the grotto as well as a documentary video.