Giant Penis Sculpture Disappears from German Mountaintop

Police in south Germany are investigating the mysterious disappearance of a giant wooden phallic sculpture that, until recently, took pride of place on a mountain summit in Bavaria.

The sculpture was removed from Grünten mountain at some point this weekend, local newspaper Allgaeuer Zeitung reported, with only a stump and sawdust left in its place.

The two-metre tall statue appeared just as mysteriously several years ago – no artist has ever claimed it.

Although it has no official name, the sculpture has been christened “the Holzpenis”, and has become a local landmark and destination for hikers. It’s even listed as a cultural monument on Google Maps.

Police in the nearby Bavarian town of Kempten said a formal inquiry into the statue going missing had been opened, but it wasn’t entirely clear that a crime had actually been committed.

"We don't know whether it is a criminal offence or not," a police spokesperson told Allgaeuer Zeitung.

The penis statue’s disappearance comes days after a mysterious metal monolith found in the desert in Utah similarly vanished, only for a new monolith to apparently emerge in Romania. There’s no link between the two monuments disappearing… yet.