Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the skyline, simply because, as one visitor noted, there is nothing like the sound of Holy
Hill's bells tolling through the Wisconsin countryside. In 1855, a disabled mendicant her-
mit experienced a “cure” atop the 1,340-foot bluff and established Holy Hill as a pilgrim-
age site. One of the church spires, 180 steps up, affords commanding views of variegated
Kettle Moraine terrain and, on clear days, the downtown Milwaukee skyline. A $5 million-
plusrenovation replaced the roofwith Vermont slate that matches the surroundinghills; the
priceless interiors were painstakingly reappointed.
Then again, some say, get there while you can. The nearby town of Erin is showing
every sign of suburbia, so much so that Scenic America placed Holy Hill on its 10 Most
Endangered Landscapes list.
Aroundthechurchare400heavilywoodedacrescrossedbytheNationalIceAgeScenic
Trail;thegroundsalsocontainahalf-miletrailandagrotto.Themonasteryhasguestrooms
and retreat facilities; reservations are required. There is also a cafeteria open weekends
year-round and daily June-October; the Sunday brunch is another nice reason to visit. To
get there, head 30 miles north of Milwaukee via U.S. 41/45, then west on WIS 167.
Little Hartford is a few miles north of Holy Hill via WIS 83. It's worthy of a stop just
to see the art deco interiors and smashing pieces of auto history at the
Wisconsin Auto-
motive Museum
(147 N. Rural St., 262/673-7999, 10am-5pm Mon.-Sat. and noon-5pm
Sun. in summer, limited hours fall-spring, $10 adults). The museum displays include
Wisconsin-produced Nash automobiles and high-caliber Kissels, which were built in Hart-
ford 1906-1931.
The
Museum of Wisconsin Art
(300 S. 6th Ave., 262/334-9638,
www.wisconsinart.org
,
10am-4:30pm Wed.-Sat., 1pm-4:30pm Sun., $5) boasts a large holding of early-19th-cen-
tury Wisconsin art. In addition to the works of Milwaukee-born German Carl von Marr, an
antiquedollhousespansanentireroom.Thissmashing$12millionrenovationwasfinished
in 2010 and designed by the same folks who brought you the lovely Discovery World com-
plex in Milwaukee.
You may recognize West Bend from its famous cookware company. The West Bend
Company has untold thousands of original appliances, many now on display at the
West
Bend/Regal Ware Museum
(18 E. Washington St., 262/306-6722, noon-4pm Wed.-Fri.,
$4)
