Overview
- Bayerische Zugspitzbahn will dismantle the 4.88-meter, 300-kilogram landmark and fly it from the 2,962-meter summit to a workshop in Eschenlohe led by conservator Andrea Würzinger.
- Hundreds of visitor stickers now cover the gold surface in up to three layers, a surge from roughly 70 noted during a 2017 re-gilding.
- The restoration will remove adhesives, repair the surface, apply protective lacquer, and selectively re-gild using 500 ordered sheets of leaf gold costing about €1,500.
- Overall work is estimated at a low five-figure euro sum, with completion hoped in time to reinstall the cross by November 28.
- To curb risky climbing at the exposed summit, a smaller replica at the mountain station is designated for sticker placement; past misuse has coincided with broken rays on the original.