Simply unique

What makes the Grossglockner Cross the first of its kind

Hannes Wallner from the "Bergkrone" at the Kaiserkreuz on the Großglockner summit, which has been officially listed as a historical monument for a few days now.

(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

For 144 years, the summit cross on the Grossglockner has been the destination for up to 5000 mountaineers every year. Its historical and cultural significance is so unique in the Alpine republic that it has been placed under a preservation order. Experts have discovered little-known details about the cross, which was once even to make way for a mighty monument.  

In 1879, Emperor Franz Joseph personally granted the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAK) permission to erect a cross on the highest mountain. Today, the Emperor's Cross on the roof of Austria is one of our country's best-known landmarks and symbolizes the longed-for goal of reaching the summit of the 3798-metre-high Grossglockner for a good 5,000 mountaineers every year.