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Mystery after provocative statue disappears without a trace

Police in southern Germany have opened an investigation into the disappearance of a large wooden sculpture of a phallus from a mountainside where it appeared without explanation several years ago.

Local newspaper Allgaeuer Zeitung reported Monday that the two-meter-tall sculpture appeared to have been chopped down over the weekend, with just a sorry pile of sawdust left behind on the 1,738-meter high Gruenten mountain.

The male genitalia had gained celebrity status in recent years as a destination for hikers, and even appeared on Google Maps, where it was classified as a “cultural monument”.

The phallic statue and the mountain it appeared on years ago.
German police said it wasn’t clear whether a crime had been committed. Source: Allgaeuer Zeitung

Local lore has it that it was made as a prank birthday present for a young man whose family didn’t appreciate the gift and so the 200-kilogram sculpture was hauled up the mountain and left there.

The German news agency dpa reported that police in the Bavarian town of Kempten are investigating the disappearance, although it wasn’t clear whether a crime had been committed.

Allgaeuer Zeitung reported that the mysterious sculpture fell over a couple of weeks ago but then appeared to have been fixed soon after.

A local brewery has named a beer after the eyebrow-raising artwork.

With AP

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