Peter LLC concludes his guest stint at BCC. See his earlier posts here, here, here, and here.
My two weeks of guest posting are up and while I regret that I did not have time to post more often, the collective sigh of relief tells me that this may be just as well. Nevertheless, I am thankful to the BCC team for this opportunity and will reflect on it frequently with fondness as I seek new challenges. And now like Jacob, let me bid you adieu with a pic-heavy post–my favorite kind.
My dear readers are no doubt aware that, for better or for worse, Mormonism generally eschews the cross. Indeed, according to Wikipedia, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon church) also rejects the cross as a symbol, seeing it as a sign of Christ’s death and therefore inappropriate as a symbol of the living Christ or his church.” But not everybody thinks to consult Wikipedia on the Mormon practices regarding the cross (or believes what s/he reads there), so I’m sure many of you have fielded a question along the lines of, “So, why don’t you guys wear/adorn your churches with a cross/crucifix?”
David Knowlton’s post a couple of weeks ago on The Problem of New Wine got me thinking about the modern attitudes toward the cross. In particular, he caught my attention when he wrote about how “the Spanish wanted to destroy the indigenous worship of rocks, mountains, and rivers, so they put crosses on them and encouraged the people to worship the crosses instead.” And when David went on to report that crosses can be found on most hilltops in Peru, I immediately thought of two places–the Alps and the Sierra Nevadas. The former, especially in Austria and Bavaria, are littered with crosses and crucifixes, large and small, while the latter, see below, are usually bare…
…unless you get lucky and find a USGS marker, plaque or ammo can containing a summit book.
But generally speaking there aren’t any crosses in the Sierra Nevadas and probably not many anywhere else in the United States. And while the US is known far and wide–not least in Europe–as a(n overly) religious country, there’s hardly a cross to be seen outside the context of a place of worship. And so it occurred to me that people accustomed to seeing their “rocks, mountains and rivers” adorned with crosses on a visit to the US might just as well ask an American, “So why don’t you guys put crosses on your mountains?”
Well, your guess is as good as mine. But since I’m an American living in Austria, I want to look at another question that interests me more–why do Austrians and their Bavarian cousins put crosses on so many mountains?
If you were thinking “‘Cause they are both Catholic, kind of like the Spanish in Peru that David was talking about,” I’m not so sure that’s the only reason. In Italy, arguably a stronghold of Catholicism, you are more likely to find a cairn (or twenty) marking the summit rather than a cross:
After a less than exhaustive review of the literature on the subject, it seems that there is no single explanation for the summit cross (and I still have no idea why there are so many in the Alps and so few elsewhere).
A combination of folk belief and practices–weather crosses, for example, were believed to protect the farm and livestock against bad weather daemons, and, in order to be most effective, were placed as close to the weather as possible–coupled with precedence–famous people like the Crusaders left their mark in Europe’s mountains by placing crosses along the way to the Holy Land and Columbus erected a cross as a sign that he claimed Hispaniola for Spain–and shifting attitudes towards nature–namely Romanticism and its notion of the sublime, which turned mountains into destinations (see Caspar David Friedrich’s Das Kreuz im Gebirge below)–may have set the stage for the triumphal procession of the cross from the cathedrals, roads and meadows below to the Alpine summit above.
While there are scattered references to summit crosses in the late 13th century, and Antoine DeVille is reported to have erected a cross honoring the Trinity on top of Mont Aiguille after the first Alpine rock climb in 1492, it wasn’t really until the late 19th century that the Alps sprouted their crosses in earnest. As they proliferated, it’s safe to say that crosses could symbolize deep spiritual meaning as well as megalomania, stand in remembrance of fallen comrades in the Great War or serve to drum up tourism. It’s probably also safe to say that as long as summit crosses have been erected, people have complained that they don’t belong up there, that they detract from whatever it is that man seeks upon the summits of his earthly experience, that is to say, we hardly do our holy spheres a favor by trampling all over them–maybe Mormons and the Sierra Club have something in common after all.
Anyroad, enough babbling. To give you an idea of the preponderance of crosses on Alpine summits that I’m talking about, feast your eyes on the following:
So how do you feel about summit crosses? Do you see them as a blight on nature, feel the oppressiveness of the Whore of Babylon or do you hear strains of “High on the Mountaintop” and start channeling Moses?
May 22, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I love them, Pete, and I’m smiling just looking at these beautiful pictures. Do I know any of these mountains? I think I spy Dachstein.
May 22, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Great pics, Peter.
In my old age, I have no problem with crosses the way I did when I was an insufferable little Mormon boy. But I admit to being ambivalent about this phenomenon. On the one had, I can appreciate them as an expression of local religiosity, but on the other hand I prefer my mountains unadorned.
In the southern U.S. there are some absolutely huge crosses seen for miles around, not on top of a mountain but off an interstate.
May 22, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Not sure about how I feel, but I’ll toss out this conjecture on motivation. Summiting even a small peak gives you a feeling of accomplishment, and depending on how high, even euphoria. Getting to the top and suddenly being reminded that no matter how great your accomplishment, it still pales in comparison to the sacrifice of the Savior. As to why it is so prevalent in the Alps, and not so much elsewhere, I couldn’t tell you. I do recall a large, lighted cross that used to oversee the Boise valley in Idaho from high on one of the foothill benches.
However, from what I understand about the secularization of Europe over the past half century, I suspect that not many more crosses will be put up, and the ones already there may not be maintained all that well.
May 22, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Perhaps a San Diego blogger can mention the cross on Mt Soledad.
May 22, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Ronan: Yeah, Dachstein is the first one with a cross. Erlakogel is next (to the south of Traunstein), then Watzmann, Schlernmassiv (in Südtirol), Traunstein, Jakobskogel (on the Rax massif), two different crosses on the Untersberg and finally Eisenerzer Reichenstein in the Steiermark.
Thanks, Kevin. I think I prefer my mountains unadorned as well, but on a long hike it is nice to know that the end is nearing once the cross comes into view. However, I once saw a small cross in the distance, assumed it was a long ways away since most are quite tall, prepared myself for a long slog and was quite surprised when I arrived minutes later and discovered the cross only came up to my waist.
May 22, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Kevinf, you are right that not as many crosses are being put up anymore. I suspect increased environmental sensitivity, stricter enforcement of building codes, and a dearth of catastrophes to memorialize since May 1945, along with secularization.
Researcher, I figgered as soon as I said there are no crosses in the US that they would start coming out of the woodwork. Oh well 8)
May 22, 2008 at 6:06 pm
During my mission to Southern France, I climbed Mount St Victoire several times. It had a beautiful cross at the summit that always gave me a sense of the spiritual in nature and my physical effort. I have dozens of missionary pictures in front of crosses. My favorites have the serpent climbing the base with an apple in it’s mouth.
Back home in Colorado, there is inexplicably a large wooden cross on my favorite running trail. I always look for it and get a moment of lift.
I acturally really enjoy crosses of all sorts–Irish, Scottish, Cathare, iron, etc. My wife won’t tolerate it, but I’d love to collect and display them in our home.
I understand the church’s explanation for their preference against them, but wonder if it’s not mostly a vestige of anti-Catholicism.
May 22, 2008 at 6:06 pm
When I was a kid there was a cross on a hillside that was visible from my grandparent’s house. I think it lit up at night or something. I remember it made me think of the KKK and I asked my grandma who put it there. She said she thought there was a church youth group camp or building up there. It always creeped me out though.
Anyway, more pictures in blogging, please.
May 22, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Those snowy pictures are fantastic, Petey — thanks.
Randall, I guess Cezanne missed the crosses in all those paintings he did of Mt-St-Vic, huh?
May 22, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Steve,
Yes, Cezanne never seemed like a religious sort. Marcel Pagnol gives the Provencial cross more press.
A favorite natural cross is on Mt. of the Holy Cross, a Colorado 14er. I’ve never seen it in person with the signature snow cross in the coulloire, but here’s a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_the_Holy_Cross
May 22, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Maybe they see mountains as spiritual places a lot of cultures do heck even LDS scripture talks about Prophets being carried up to high mountains by the spirit to be shown visions. I love Irish and Scottish crosses too.
May 22, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Steve,
Yes, Cezanne never seemed like a religious sort. Marcel Pagnol gives the Provencial cross more press.
A favorite natural cross is on Mt. of the Holy Cross, a Colorado 14er. I’ve never seen it in person with the signature snow cross in the coulloire, but here’s a link: Steve,
Yes, Cezanne never seemed like a religious sort. Marcel Pagnol gives the Provencial cross more press.
A favorite natural cross is on Mt. of the Holy Cross, a Colorado 14er. I’ve never seen it in person with the signature snow cross in the coulloire, but here’s a link:
May 22, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Actually the reason why I said that maybe a San Diegan could address the Mt Soledad cross is because I didn’t know if it was still there. While we lived there some group was suing the city over having a cross on city land.
As far as I can tell it’s still there:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mt+soledad+cross+san+diego&ie=UTF8&ll=32.839776,-117.244704&spn=0.003552,0.003439&t=h&z=18
If you zoom out three clicks then follow Interstate 5 north for a little bit (just over a mile), at the top left of the Charmant Drive “peanut” is the San Diego temple.
The cross has some wonderful views.
By the way, nice article.
May 22, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Has anyone ever been to Groom TX outside of Amarillo. It’s got an awesome cross. And a replica of a replica of the shroud of Jesus.
There are big crosses all over Oklahoma. Plus if there’s ever an accident on the interstate, there’s often a cross marking the spot. That’s all over the US I think.
These photos are amazing. Thank you.
May 22, 2008 at 8:24 pm
The pictures are beautiful. I’ve seen large crosses amidst the billboards on the sides of freeways that seem somewhat out of place, but on mountains, they seem to fit.
We live in Helena, Montana. Just an hour south of us,perched on top of a mountain overlooking Butte, is a large statue of Mary which is lit at night. Each time I return from one of my frequent trips to Utah, the sight of that statue, with its arms outstretched, lightens my heart, as I know I am close to home.
May 22, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Believe it or not, there used to be a cross in the foothills of Provo, Utah above BYU. It was made of stone. I used to hike up to it and play around it as a child (in the late 50′s and early 60′s). It was probably eight to ten feet high, though it’s hard to say because things seem a lot bigger when you’re a child.
I don’t think it is still there now, as homes have been built higher on the bench and have undoubtedly “overrun” it. I don’t know who put it there. We referred to it as the “Easter Cross.”
May 23, 2008 at 12:28 am
There is also the famous cross on Mount Royal in the middle of Montreal. (Another pic) On a clear night it can be seen all the way into the United States.
May 23, 2008 at 12:30 am
In the middle ages, it seems crosses were often erected by sinners in more or less public places as a form of penance until the practice was discontinued by 1500 or so. Taking its place was the practice of the victims of crime (or accident) placing a cross at the scene of a violent death as a resting place for, and no doubt memorial to, the departed soul. As you note, these kinds of crosses dot the roadsides in the US and elsewhere (though in France there are also day-glo human outlines placed at fatal accident scenes to remind people to drive safely).
May 23, 2008 at 7:05 am
About 20 years ago, there was a guy who decided his life’s missions was to put up groupings of three crosses all over the US. I was a kid at the time, so the details are a bit hazy, but I remember the guy was using his own money to do this. He would just randomly select places to put them. For some reason, he chose to put a grouping near a church in the little south Georgia town where my grandparents lived, which is how we found out about the project.
A few months later, the Navy moved my family from Florida to Pennsylvania, and we were surprised to find these cross groupings all up and down the Eastern seaboard. It became our most favorite car game- “Spot the Crosses!”. The crosses were painted bright yellow, so they were easy to spot. Sometimes they were right off the interstate, but sometimes, they would be at the top of a hill or mountain, further off in the distance (especially as we got into Kentucky and Virginia).
I don’t know if the guy ever made it out west anywhere, and not too long ago the church in my grandparents town took down their grouping. It’d be interesting to know whatever happened to the guy.
May 23, 2008 at 7:37 am
Researcher and Bill beat me to it: the cross in San Diego became famous a few years back because of a lawsuit challenging it as an “establishment of religion.” (A quick check with Wikipedia–assuming you believe what you read there–shows that the legal maneuverings have not ended, after 19 years.)
And, the cross on Mount Royal is just up the hill from where my daughter lived for four years while at McGill University. It looks impressive from the foot of the hill, but has an air of slightly rusted utilitarianism from up close. I don’t recall ever seeing it from the U.S. border–but maybe I’ve never been there on a clear evening.
I don’t know if Las Cruces, New Mexico, has any crosses on the hills around it (or if there are any hills around it, for that matter), but it’s been sued because of the three crosses on its city seal.
And, the state of Utah has been sued for allowing the highway patrol association to put crosses along the highways where officers have been killed.
For so long as the Supreme Court continues to hold that the placement of a religious symbol in a public place is an unconstitutional establishment of religion (absent a nearby Santa Claus or Easter Bunny), it seems unlikely that there will be many crosses on mountaintops in the U.S.
May 23, 2008 at 7:42 am
The story of the crosses along the highways can be found at the website of Crosses Across America, the organization that has taken over the mission from the founder, Bernard Coffindaffer.
May 23, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I’m a San Diego blogger, and I’ve followed the case of the Mt. Soledad cross for quite awhile. It has gone on forever, it seems. The cross is still there today, but the controversy will probably continue. It has been quiet over the last year or so because the land around the cross was officially transfered to the federal government and designated a war memorial, like a national cemetery, and crosses are supposedly allowed at such places. All the legal wrangling has been about state issues so far. The original atheist who brought the suit has died, but his lawyer says he’ll carry on. The next step would be to bring suit against the federal government, rather than the city of San Diego. We’ll see if they have the desire to take on the feds given the conservative nature of the current Supreme Court. Maybe things will change if we get a new president who appoints different justices.
And as for myself, an active Mormon, obviously I don’t worship crosses, but I support those who want to keep the cross there. I see it as support for religion in general, and it’s recognition in the community. Some of the most vocal supporters of the Mt. Soledad cross have been Jewish and other non-Christians.
And you can get a really nice view of the San Diego Temple from Mt. Soledad as well!
May 23, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Nice pics.
In 1916 the LDS Church petitioned the SLC council to erect a cross monument on ensign peak. The proposal was eventually abandoned after protests from several vocal members of the Church, but I think it is interesting (given the Church’s aversion today) that they would have even suggested such a design.
May 23, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Funny that you post this today–I saw a couple crosses on mountaintops while on a train through the Alps this week and it reminded me of home (San Diego). In addition to Mt. Soledad, several other hilltops throughout the county have crosses. The others aren’t monument style–they are smaller, often just a frame strewn with Christmas lights so you can see it at night. I assume they are put up by the owner of the land as some kind of missionary effort.
May 25, 2008 at 8:30 am
I have absolutely no problem with crosses, personally, though I dislike the ones with an attached suffering Jesus. Especially the ones with painted blood. If people ask about the lack of crosses on buildings I usually say “it’s because we like being peculiar.” I don’t mind wearing them — when I was a competitive Irish dancer they were hard to avoid (amongst other things, they were all over my school dress[*]) — though I don’t do so with any kind of regularity.
Having said that, I sometimes wonder whether crosses have, through over-use, lost some of their potency. I was reading something from CS Lewis the other day and he mentioned that to the “uneducated man” the cross had absolutely no connotations of torture, and I think that’s still accurate some fifty years later. I’ve noticed some of my Protestant friends have shifted focus to nails and crowns of thorns instead of the cross itself: there was a thorn gift set on sale in our local Christian bookstore the last time I went.
[*] Bearing in mind that, at the time, my dance school had ~250 Catholics, 5 Protestants, and 2 Mormons enrolled. And 3 of the 5 Protestants were Lutherans. The 2 Presbyterians and my sister and I all became friends thanks to our minority status.
May 25, 2008 at 9:53 am
Cool pictures — thanks.
I definitely don’t think High on a Mountaintop because that song for me invokes the idea of the Restoration of the Gospel.
But I have no resentment against creedal Christians placing crosses as signs of their devotion up there.
May 25, 2008 at 12:22 pm
John, yeah, it’s definitely a stretch. Still, for me, singing the song reminds me of Sunday services in Judenburg, which in turn evokes images of the Alps. Like Luther, I can do no other.
Sarah, what does a thorn gift set include?
sister blah 2–a train through the Alps? Where were you, if I might ask?
May 25, 2008 at 1:49 pm
#20 – I would repeat Brigham Young’s counsel to solve our own problems and starve the lawyers, but I don’t want to get banned from the Bloggernacle – so I won’t repeat it.
May 25, 2008 at 5:05 pm
#27–TGV from Paris to Milan, through a bit of the French Alps. Highly recommended. :-)
May 25, 2008 at 7:36 pm
there is a rather large cross on a foothill at the mouth of Spanish Fork canyon(just south of Provo). I think it is there as a monument to the Spanish missionaries who passed through there long before the Mormons. Growing up in Salem UT, and I was always proud of it. For the true Mormon history buffs, it us one or two peaks away from the Dream Mine
May 28, 2008 at 10:16 am
Adam S #30. I’d like to learn more about this. Orson F. Whitney objected publically against the Church’s 1916 petition to erect a cross monument on ensign peak (since the cross is a “catholic” symbol), and he instead suggested that a cross should be erected elsewhere in honor of Father Escelante. I wonder if this is the alternative monument you speak of.