Why a massive cross has been removed from one of Europe’s highest peaks

The gilded cross was removed by helicopter from Zugspitze in the Bavarian Alps

The gilded cross that adorns Germany’s highest peak is removed to be restored (DPA)

Germany's highest peak, the Zugspitze, will temporarily be without its iconic gilded cross for the next few weeks.

The 4.88-metre (16-foot) tall, 300-kilogram (661-pound) landmark was airlifted by helicopter from the 2,962-metre (9,718-foot) summit on Tuesday.

This unusual removal, from the mountain shared by Germany and Austria in the Bavarian Alps, is for restoration after years of visitors plastering it with stickers.

The cross is now being transported to the workshop of craftswoman Andrea Würzinger in nearby Eschenlohe, German news agency dpa reported, for repairs.

Traditionally, walkers posted stickers on the cross when they reached the summit (DPA)

Würzinger plans to carefully remove the thick layer of stickers, sand the iron underneath and then add new gold leaf where needed. With gold prices high, she said that “we want to try to gild it only where there is no longer gold.”

The current cross was made by her father, Franz Würzinger, in 1993, replacing the original from 1851, which was damaged beyond repair. She said that, when it was first re-gilded after about 15 years, there were three stickers on it; in 2017, there were about 70; and now there are hundreds.

It's easy to reach the top of the Zugspitze, which gets around 600,000 visitors each year, by mountain railway and cable car. But the actual peak with its cross is a short climb away from the summit station where visitors gather to enjoy spectacular views.

Selfies around the cross are sought-after and the area can get crowded and slippery on busy days. Not all visitors come with suitable shoes. Some resort to risky acrobatics to put stickers on an uncovered part of the cross.

In July, a replica cross was inaugurated inside the summit station in hopes that people will take their selfies and slap their stickers there instead of risking the climb to the peak.

Würzinger and the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn, the operator of the railway and cable cars that lead to the summit from the German side, hope the work will be finished and the cross back in place in time for the beginning of the ski season on Nov. 28.