Search Deals on
Ave Maria Grotto Vacation Packages

Final resting place for Brother Joseph, who created the art that is known as Ave Maria Grotto.This is a cemetery of only monks in residence at St. Bernard Abbey.

Ave Maria Grotto, in Cullman, Alabama, is a landscaped, 4-acre park in an old quarry on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey, providing a garden setting for 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous religious structures of the world. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on February 24, 1976, and to the National Register of Historic Places on January 19, 1984.

The stone and concrete models are the work of Brother Joseph Zoettl, a Benedictine monk of St. Bernard's Abbey, who devoted some 50 years to the project, the last three decades (1932 to 1961) almost without interruption. They incorporate discarded building supplies, bricks, marbles, tiles, pipes, sea shells, marbles, plastic animals, costume jewellery, toilet bowl floats and cold cream jars.

Born in 1878 in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Brother Joseph was maimed in an accident that left him slightly hunched due to cervical kyphosis. He immigrated to the United States as a teenager, settling in northern Alabama. Soon afterward he began studying at the newly founded Benedictine monastery of St. Bernard, where he took his vows in 1897. Br. Joseph was not allowed to be ordained as a priest, due to the rule of the period that stated any man with a distracting disability could not be ordained a priest. He ran the monastery’s power plant and was, even by a monk's standards, a withdrawn, quiet man. Brother Joseph rarely left Alabama, where he died in 1961.

Photo by Jennifer Hott-Greenway

Ave Maria Grotto Last Minute Hotel Deals

Cobblestone Hotel & Suites - Cullman

1835 Main Ave SW, Cullman, AL

Stay at this 3-star business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the helpful staff in our reviews. ...

Days Inn by Wyndham Cullman

1841 4th St Sw, Cullman, AL

Book a stay at this business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the clean rooms in our reviews. ...

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Cullman

2054 Saint Joseph Drive Northwest, Cullman, AL

Stay at this 3-star business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the breakfast and the helpful staff ...

Sleep Inn & Suites Cullman I-65 exit 310

2050 Sr 157, Cullman, AL

Stay at this hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the helpful staff in our reviews. Popular attractions Sportsman ...

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Cullman by IHG

2052 Hays Dr, Cullman, AL

Book a stay at this business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the helpful staff in our reviews. ...

Comfort Suites Cullman I-65 Exit 310

2048 St Joseph Dr Nw, Cullman, AL

Book a stay at this business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the breakfast and the helpful staff ...

Best Western Fairwinds Inn

1917 Commerce Avenue, Cullman, AL

Book a stay at this business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the clean ...

Hampton Inn Cullman

6100 Hwy 157, Cullman, AL

Book a stay at this business-friendly hotel in Cullman. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the property ...

See all 595 properties in Ave Maria Grotto

Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.