Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows - Starkenburg, MO - Official Local Tourism Attractions on Waymarking.com

County of site: Montgomery County
Location of site: MO State Hwy P, N. of Rhineland and MO- State Hwy 19, Starkenburg
Phone: 573 236 4390

"A short drive from Hermann is a unique site to take in some history and maybe a little meditation. The Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows at Starkenburg is an outdoor shrine and grotto behind St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Starkenburg, MO, near Rhineland. The shrine has indoor and outdoor altar areas and seating. A lush, quiet wooded area is the perfect setting for the large shrine and underground grotto. There are several smaller grottos featuring religious statues and beautiful landscaping along a winding path down through the trees. Also of interest is the set of large outdoor Stations of the Cross that makes a circle and ends at the main grotto.

"St. Martin’s Church is also of interest. The Church is open during the day to go in and take a look at it’s lovely, historic interior. A small museum telling of the Church’s history and the building of the Shrine is in the sacristy behind the altar. Historic items such as old German hymnals, religious artifacts and early church photos are there for viewing.

"Outdoor Masses are held at the Shrine at noon the second Tuesday of each month. Religious pilgrimages to the Shrine are also held one or more times per year." ~ Hermann MO

"The Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows at Starkenburg is located amid the rolling, wooded countryside of Montgomery County near Rhineland, Missouri. The Shrine includes four buildings and seventeen structures scattered over forty-five acres: the Church of the Risen Savior with its neighboring cemetery; a modern Parish Hall; the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows: a small Log Chapel; an underground replica of the Holy Sepulcher; fourteen Stations of the Cross set in a wood; the Lourdes Grotto, which recalls its French namesake; and a hillside construction, recalling the Agony in the Garden, called Mt. Olivet (see site plan). The construction dates of the buildings and shrines range from 1873 (Church of the Risen Savior) to 1950 (Holy Sepulcher). Also included with boundaries of the Shrine are two small garage-sheds west of the church. The grounds, buildings and structures are all in excellent condition. Most of the area is open to the passing traveler and special pilgrimage observances are held twice a year.

The area of Missouri known as Starkenburg is located immediately north of the Gasconade and Franklin County sections of the Missouri River Valley which is called "Missouri's Rhineland" because of the dominant German cultural element there. German immigrants spread to this area from settlements in Warren, St. Charles and Osage Counties after the popularization of the area by Gottfried Duden in his book Bericht Qber eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerika's (1829) which described his 2 year residence in Missouri." ~ NRHP Nomintaion Form

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