The Gratter peak, artificially raised in 1988 with stones up to 3,000 meters and named after cartographer and glaciologist Wolfgang Pilevitzer, has already regained its original height and will remain nameless from now on, the Salzburg Alpine Club announced, quoted by APA.
The reason for removing the name is the Nazi past of the man after whom it was named, BNT specified.
Alpinists from the “Salzburg“ section of the Austrian Alpine Club climbed to the peak in the Venediger Group on Friday and removed a memorial plaque that had been placed there 38 years ago, which commemorates the scientist. Pilevitzer has long been revered as a geographer, cartographer and glaciologist, but his Nazi past has gone unnoticed.
When the 2,999-meter peak was named in 1988, climbers brought stones to the summit to turn it into a three-thousander.
The name was already the subject of discussion back then, but was eventually approved, said historian and vice president of the Alpine Club Nicole Slupecki, based on her research.
“By removing the plaque, the Alpine Club distances itself from honoring a specific person who does not align with our position on an open and inclusive society,” said Gerd Früwirth, chairman of the Alpine Club's Salzburg section.
The official designation of geographical names is decided by the Salzburg Local Names Commission, in which the Alpine Club is also represented. Therefore, the necessary steps are now being discussed with the other competent authorities so that the object can appear again without a name on maps and in geographic databases in the future, APA specifies.