Paul Matthias Dobberstein (September 21, 1872 – July 24, 1954) was a

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Dobberstein was born in

Rosenfeld, Germany Rosenfeld () is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Rosenfeld became a possession of the County of Württemberg, County, later Duchy of Württemberg, Duchy, of Württemberg, which made the town the seat ...

to Francis "Frank" Dobberstein and Julia Froehlich. Father Dobberstein was educated at the university of Deutsch-Krone in Germany and at the St. Francis Seminary, in St. Francis, Wisconsin. He was ordained on June 30, 1897. He raised a daughter who travelled to his parish on an

orphan train The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwestern United States, Midwest short on farming Child ...

. She is cited as his

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

daughter in the

1910 United States census The 1910 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census ...

Grottoes

Father Dobberstein is most known for designing and building The Shrine of the

Grotto of the Redemption A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden featu ...

, in

West Bend, Iowa West Bend is a village in Kossuth and Palo Alto (originally) counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 791 at the time of the 2020 census. History West Bend got its start in the early 1880s, following the construction of the Burl ...

, in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City The Diocese of Sioux City () is the Latin Church diocese for the northwestern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The cathedral parish for this diocese is the Epiphany and the see ...

. This is actually a series of several connected grottoes. At the neighboring church of Saints Peter and Paul, he also created a fountain and, inside, a majestic nativity scene. Other religious grottoes designed and built by Dobberstein include: * Sacred Heart Church:

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

* Immaculate Conception Grotto:

Carroll, Iowa Carroll is a city in, and the county seat of, Carroll County, Iowa, United States, along the Middle Raccoon River. The population was 10,321 in the 2020 census. History Carroll was laid out in 1867. It took its name from Carroll County, wh ...

(now gone) * Franciscan Convent:

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

* Shrine in the St. Rose of Viterbo Convent of the

Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women whose motherhouse, St. Rose of Viterbo Convent, is in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in the Diocese of La Crosse. The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetua ...

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

(now gone) * Catholic Cemetery:

Wesley, Iowa Wesley is a city in Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 391 at the time of the 2020 census. History Wesley was founded April 13, 1872 and incorporated on March 26, 1892. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau ...

* John Brown Park:

Humboldt, Iowa Humboldt is a city in Humboldt County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,792 at the time of the 2020 census, gaining 102 people over the 2010 total. History Frank A. Gotch Park (just south of present-day Humboldt and Dakota City) was ...

Father Dobberstein's works inspired Mathias Wernerus (who also attended St. Francis Seminary) to build the Dickeyville Grotto in

Dickeyville, Wisconsin Dickeyville is a village in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,015 at the 2020 census. The Dickeyville Grotto is located in the heart of the village. History Dickeyville was not formally platted. The village was nam ...

in 1930,Grotto of the Redemption
, agilitynut.com thus starting the grotto building movement in America.
, ww2.lafayette.edu/~niless

Pastoral career

In addition to his prolific works of art and stone, he led a busy life as the pastor of Saints Peter and Paul in West Bend for more than 57 years. His signature appears on over a thousand baptism records from his time in the parish.

References

*''An Explanation of the Grotto of the Redemption''

External links

West Bend Grotto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobberstein, Paul 1872 births 1954 deaths German emigrants to the United States People from Palo Alto County, Iowa People from the Kingdom of Württemberg 20th-century American architects Architects from Iowa 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Catholics from Iowa 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests