Stained Glass Sanctuary & Floral Fantasy
By St. Cloud Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
05/20/2009
Bring your camera and discover Granite Country USA! We will take you on a tour that includes the largest stained glass window in the world. A 5.5 million dollar Bible project and a beautiful walk through one of Minnesota's premier out door gardens. Our heritage is German Catholic, but we have a grasshopper story for you too. We got rocks & a lot of them used to make some distinguished buildings and memorials. So come along, Granite Country is waiting for you.
Contact Information:
t: view phone 800-264-2940
e: view email jean@granitecountry.com
w: view URL www.granitecountry.com
i: view contact details
- St. John's Abbey
- Hill Museum
- Munsinger/Clemens Gardens
- Stearns History Museum
- Grasshopper Chapel
Tour Dates:
Number of Days: 2
Day 1:
Once known as the "Nitty Gritty Granite City," St. Cloud used this tagline
for a 1921 advertising campaign. Today we are known as "Granite
Country USA!" In addition to granite, St. Cloud and the Central Lakes
Area offer much to satisfy all senses even your sixth sense!
We will make our first stop at St. John's University. Founded in the
1860s, the jewel of the college is the Abbey. Designed by Marcel
Breuer, the current Abbey was finished in 1961. The church is made
of concrete and faced on the outside with local granite. Our next stop
is the Hill Library, home to the St. John's Bible. It is the only handwritten
and illuminated Bible commissioned in the Western world
since the advent of printed books more than 500 years ago. All Old
World traditions were used to create this Bible. Lunch at St. John's is
the perfect match. We can either dine in the cafeteria or we can have
a more intimate setting with a catered lunch. St. John's Arboretum
focuses on the native flora and fauna. The Chapel Trail is a three-mile
roundtrip hike (perfect after lunch) to Stella Maris Chapel located
along the bank of Lake Sagatagan. The trail takes us through a forested
oak and maple tree savanna.
An early afternoon check-in at one of our hotels allows a little time to
relax before we dine at one of the many locally owned restaurants
that have created affordable group tour friendly menus. Steak, chicken,
seafood, and American, Italian or Mediterranean cuisine it's all about
a dining experience just for you!
Before we retire for the evening, we will take a stroll through the
beautiful Munsinger and Clemens Gardens. Located along the
Mississippi River, the gardens offer a beautiful bouquet of color. The
calming of the river and overall beauty of the gardens is sure to tickle
all of your senses including your "sixth" sense.
Day 2:
Early to rise! Most of our limited-service properties offer an extensive
complimentary continental breakfast. But save some room because
we are planning a stop at Cold Spring Bakery. Fresh baked goods
have been a tradition for the past 55 years! A tour of the bakery is a
must with cake decorating being the most popular. We continue our
journey to the Grasshopper Chapel. Let's just say the only food the
grasshoppers didn't like were peas. This compelling story takes us
back to 1877 to our German heritage.
Granite used in your home or in your garde
