Kruzifix mit Blitzableiter

In the early summer months of 1823, a colossal crucifix, donated by archduke Johann, cast of local iron was erected with great pomp and publicity on the summit of the Erzberg in Styria. Barely mentioned, as though it was meant to be kept a secret, was the fact that a lightning rod was attached to this crucifix. What does this lightning rod signify What perspectives open to us if we note that this Erzberg crucifix was one of the earliest summit crosses to be erected. The author argues here that the cultural sign the crucifix represented, despite the apparent unbroken continuity in its exterior form and its unvarying appearance, carried a different meaning from this point onward. This small contribution is not only to the history of mountain and summit symbols, thus to a history of the material manifestations of signs and symbols, but also a further building-block in the debate about continuity.