Kreuzspitze, Mountain summit in the Allgäu Alps on the German-Austrian border
Kreuzspitze is a 2367 m secondary summit of the Hochvogel in the Allgäu Alps, on the ridge running from the Kesselspitze south to the Hochvogel. The German–Austrian border crosses the peak, which lies above Bad Hindelang on the German side and Hinterhornbach on the Austrian side. It is separated from the Hochvogel by the Kaltwinkelscharte (2281 m) and from the Fuchskarspitze by the Balkenscharte (2172 m); below its east flank lies the firn field Im Kalten Winkel.
The name Kreuzspitze appears in records as early as 1834, when the Bavarian topographic atlas listed it as Kreuz Kopf; a revised description of the Bavarian border from 1844 called it Kreuzspitz. The name may come from a border cross on the summit, or from the peak's role as an important boundary point. Before the Schengen Agreement opened the border in 1997, crossings here mattered when the Kalter Winkel was closed by border police.
The name first appears in 1834 as Kreuz Kopf in the Topographischer Atlas von Bayern, and in 1844 as auf den Kreuzspitz in a revised description of the Bavarian state border. A boundary cross on the summit, like the one on the nearby Kreuzkopf, may have given the name; its role as an important border point could also explain it.
Hikers reach the summit via marked trails from Hinterhornbach or Bad Hindelang, with the main season running from June through September. During these months, conditions are most favorable and the routes most manageable.
The marked path crosses just below the summit; the last metres to the top are pathless and demand sure footing. The peak was first recorded in 1834 as Kreuz Kopf in the Topographischer Atlas von Bayern, and a border cross on the summit may have given it its name.
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