We hear about many travel destinations from friends and family. Such was the case for me when I heard about Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman. A friend suggested I visit the site. He described miniature buildings created by a monk mostly in the first half of the 20th century.

About an hour north of Birmingham, the attraction is in a former quarry at St. Bernard Abbey, the only Benedictine monastery of men in the state.

After paying a nominal admission fee, I start my tour by walking along a wide sidewalk down into the grotto.

A statue of Brother Joseph Zoettl stands in the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman. The Benedictine monk spent over four decades creating more than 120 miniature buildings in the grotto next to St. Bernard Abbey. (Marilyn Jones / Alabama Living)

Brother Joseph Zoettl, a Benedictine monk, created each building. From Landschutt, Bavaria-Germany, Zoettl headed to America to pursue monastic life in 1892. Little did anyone know that he would leave the abbey such an incredible legacy.

Zoettl was maimed in an accident that left him slightly hunched due to cervical kyphosis. He could not be ordained as a priest because of a rule that prohibited ordaining any man with a distracting disability.

Zoettl was considered a withdrawn, quiet man. After he arrived at the newly founded abbey, he spent his days praying and laboring in the powerhouse. When not busy shoveling coal into the furnaces, he constructed the miniatures.

He began making the first replicas about 1912 and finished his last, the miniature of the beautiful Lourdes Basilica Church, in 1958, when he was 80 years old. He used rock and concrete to construct each building and marbles, glassware, seashells, tiny ceramic tiles and other objects to decorate the facades.

The tiny buildings were initially in the abbey gardens, but so many visitors wanted to see them that they were moved to their present site in 1934. Visitors from around the world have journeyed here to see the miniature treasures.

The 4-acre park is filled with lovely flowers, English ivy and towering trees. Nature has crept in on the tiny buildings, making them seem like they were always part of the landscape.

As I walk past The Temple of the Fairies, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Alamo, Montserrat, St. Peter’s Basilica and 120 other small structures, I am amazed at his artistry, detail and the apparent love that went into their creation.

Half of the hillside features buildings and scenes from the Holy Land. Also displayed are Spanish missions, German castles, South African shrines and the St. Bernard Abbey power station.

Zoettl rarely left Alabama after arriving. His creations came from extensive reading. Of all the structures he duplicated, he had seen only four. The others were designed using photographs and detailed written descriptions.

Brother Joseph Zoettl died in 1961 at 83 and is buried in the Abbey cemetery. He was a monk of the abbey for 70 years.

It takes me the better part of an hour to walk the two-block distance. There is such detail in each piece and village. Tiny staircases, statues and decorations add to the charm of each work.

The Ave Maria Grotto illuminated for the holidays. (Marilyn Jones / Alabama Living)

About halfway through the tour is a statue of Zoettl. On its base is the inscription “Brother Joseph Zoettl, O.S.B., Creator of Ave Maria Grotto, Ora Et Labora,1878-1961.”

At the end of the tour are several other structures created after Zoettl’s death. Leo Schwaiger cared for the grotto from 1963 until his retirement in 2014 and, most notably, made the four Marian Shrines.

The Grotto was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1976 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Ave Maria Grotto is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 to 5 p.m. except New Year’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is in Cullman at 1600 St. Bernard Drive SE. For more information, check avemariagrotto.com or call 256-734-4110.

Neighboring Hanceville has another religious destination open to the public. Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament is a prominent Roman Catholic Latin Rite shrine in a beautiful rural setting.

The Shrine is notable for its gilt interior, solemn atmosphere and 7.5-foot monstrance. The site is quiet and peaceful. Roses frame many of the buildings.

The shrine is at 3224 County Road 548. For more information, check olamshrine.com or call 256-352-6267.