Wegner Grotto

Cataract, Wisconsin

 

 

 

Paul and Matilda Wegner lived in Cataract, Wisconsin, some 150 miles north of Dickeyville.  Like Father Wernerus, the Wegners were German immigrants, and they began to decorate their home and yard with concrete and glass artwork after a visit to the Dickeyville.  Paul, the primary builder, began his work sometime after 1929 and continued until his death in 1937.

Paul built a small, non-denominational chapel, known as the "Glass Church," along with free-standing sculptures, fences, and portals. Paul Wegner's artworks have been reconstructed by the Kohler Foundation, and the Wegner Grotto is maintained as a county park.

Click on the menu at left for a tour of parts of the site, or check out the following web page for some additional images:

http://www.interestingideas.com/roadside/wisc/weg/weg2.htm

 

 

Text and photos copyright, Susan A. Niles

niless@lafayette.edu