Ave Maria Grotto

What a unique and beautiful place to visit. The grounds are lovely with rich foliage. Brother Joe has created miniatures of Rome, Jerusalem, missions, Bethlehem and so many more!

I would pass by the Grotto on school trips to the Space Center in Huntsville and always wanted to stop. I got my chance 30 years later. My mother and I decided to take the 1 hour drive from Birmingham on a mission to do something different.
The Grotto isn’t very exciting at first glance. You can do the entire walk in 10 minutes if you don’t stop to read the informational placards. But who would do that? It took us about 45 minutes. That’s because there’s a story behind each magnificent building. The love and detail is so amazing we just stopped to stare in wonder and notice the details listed in the posted descriptions and free brochure. It takes a creative mind (and a great deal of time) to construct the various models. There was Hansel and Gretel’s Temple of the Fairies complete with a dragon in chains to reassure visiting children it was contained. The city of Jerusalem was one of my favorites. It showcased the various stages of JESUS’ life, such as the tomb with an angel sitting at the opening with a sign telling all HE is risen and the tomb from which he called Lazarus. On a somber note, there was a miniature cemetery with 27 miniature crosses to represent the lost lives of former students to various wars. It is definitely a unique experience well worth the stop on the way to a more intended destination
Be sure to bring a cold bottle of water during a summer visit. It was quite hot. There were a number of benches underneath shade trees for a rest, though. Bring walking shoes for the winding path.

Well worth your time!!! It was amazing how much work one man can put into such an endeavor. Very nice gift shop.

Visited with a local. Enjoyed the artistry of Bro. Joseph. Even if you aren’t into the religious side of this, go for the creativity!

I was able to share this with my fiancé and we took many pictures of course. This is incredible. The detail of the miniatures is outstanding, especially considering the materials. The admission was $ 10 for us both, but WELL worth it!

It is amazing to think that 1 man spent 50 years of his life completing 125 miniatures of famous churches and other important edifices, using stone, jewels, and whatever he could get. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and this is worth a visit. Fee is $ 5 pp.

I LOVE this place. It’s definitely worth a day trip if you’re in Huntsville as it’s about 1.5 hours one way. There’s a bunch of bbq places in the area to eat lunch at too.
It’s probably better to go in the spring, but if you happen to travel there in the winter, the gift shop lady may offer you some hot cocoa (yum!) I recommend watching the video before you make the walk. It give you the back story and puts things in perspective.

I think this place is pretty dang neato.
I took a friend to visit the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament (amazing place, btw and definitely worth visiting) and neither of us had been to the Grotto yet, so we decided to go here before heading home.
Although it is best known as mini Jerusalem… it does have replicas of religious places of the world. Also, not so religious structures. There’s castles, fairies and the Alamo… just to name a few.
It was really cool following the path through the gardens seeing the replicas on each side. They are all quite amazing and very beautiful.
It was built by Brother Joseph over a period of 50 years. 50 years! Can you even imagine spending 50 years making something? And did you know postcards served as his visual aid in making these replicas?
Even though he died in the early 60s, each one of his replicas looks brand new. They are well maintained and quite impressive.
The Grotto is on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey, which is over 100 years old. You can visit the Abbey as well as eat lunch.

Cullman’s best (only?) tourist attraction! After sipping some root beer at Cullman’s version of Octoberfest, take a stroll through the Grotto to view the work of Brother Joesph. Crafting amazing reproductions of the world’s most significant edifices (including the lizard condo!), he spent 50 years perfecting the 125 reproductions using a variety of discarded building materials and even cold cream jars.
Be sure to show your AAA card for $ 2 off admission ($ 7).

Say you’re a monk, right, and maybe you’ve been stashed away, all monk like, and even if you weren’t a monk there’s not really a whole lot to do in the town you’ve been stashed away in anyway. So, what do you do? Well, you find every scrap of broken tile/​glob of mortar/​toothpaste cap you can find, and you build miniature replicas of various religiously significant locations, of course!
Often referred to as «Jerusalem In Miniature», this is one of the few touristy-​type things to do in Cullman. I guarantee, once you visit, you will never think the same way about the life of monks again.