A mountain without a summit cross? For some it is a sacrilege, for others, out of consideration for other worldviews, they would prefer to keep the Alps free of religious symbols. A conversation about the sense and nonsense of the summit cross debates.
Crosses aren’t the only arguments in classrooms and courtrooms – they’re also a regular topic in the mountains. There are currently debates in Austria and Italy. Trigger was on Article in the magazine of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), according to which summit crosses should be maintained and prepared, but no new ones should be set up because the majority of society can no longer identify with them. The Austrian Alpine Club has also not wanted to set up any new crosses for a long time. Right-wing and conservative politicians in particular rail against it. The philosopher Claudia Paganini teaches media ethics at the Munich School of Philosophy and has published a popular scientific book on the history of the summit crosses. In an interview, she explains why the crosses on the mountain peaks are always a topic of controversy.