Revisiting Roadside Chapels in Wisconsin's Belgian Culture Region.

Four decades ago, two cultural geographers and a landscape architect described Wisconsin's Belgian ethnic landscape, the nation's largest rural concentration of persons of Belgian ancestry, noting its distinctive architecture and religious heritage. The presence of small roadside votive chapels had long been noted, yet the geographers lamented that they might disappear over time. The landscape architect noted that there were "only a dozen remaining chapels' and there were none "under construction." This paper revisits the findings of these scholars and looks at the contemporary status of these chapels. Today there are as many roadside chapels as there were in the 19805, including historic chapels, those relocated to cemeteries, plus at least five new chapels erected this century. Their continuing presence, promotion by the Belgian Heritage Center, and interest and publicity by a local religious leader ensures that they remain an enduring sacred feature on the Belgian cultural landscape of northeast Wisconsin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]