Caspar Ritter - Bildnis des Schriftstellers Jakob Christoph Heer

Jakob Christoph Heer (17 July 1859,

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

– 20 August 1925,

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

) was a Swiss novelist and travel writer.

Life and career

His father, Christoph (1833-1913), was a fitter who served in the Winterthur city government. In 1879, he was awarded a teaching certificate from the

Kantonsschule Küsnacht The Kantonsschule Küsnacht, former ''Seminar Küsnacht'', is a ''Kantonsschule'', or ''Mittelschule'' in the municipality of Küsnacht, Canton Zurich. It was founded in 1832 and is the oldest school for teacher-education in the canton as well as ...

. He originally worked as a "vicar" (substitute teacher) in

Glattfelden Glattfelden is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Bülach (district), Bülach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). ...

then, in 1882, found a permanent position in

Dürnten Dürnten is a municipality in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Dürnten is first mentioned between 743 and 747 as ''Tunriude''. Geography Dürnten has an area of . Of this area, 60.4% is used for agricu ...

. His first book, ''Holidays on the Adriatic'', was published in 1888. He became the features editor for the ''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...

'' in 1892. The following year, he married Emma Karoline Gossweiler (1859-1936), daughter of Adolf Gossweiler, an engineer. From 1899 to 1902, he was an editor for ''

Die Gartenlaube (; ) was the first successful mass-circulation German newspaper and a forerunner of all modern magazines.Sylvia Palatschek: ''Popular Historiographies in the 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Oxford: Berghahn, 2010) p. 41 It was founded by publisher ...

''. After 1902, he worked as a freelance writer.

Works

Heer's novels include: * 1898, ''An heiligen Wassern'' * 1900, ''Der König der Bernina'' * 1901, ''Felix Notvest'' * 1902, ''Joggeli'' * 1905, ''Der Wetterwart'' * 1908, ''Laubgewind'' * 1918, ''Heinrichs Romfahrt'' * 1920, ''Nick Tappoli'' * 1922, ''Tobias Heider''

Adaptations

His two best known novels have each been adapted into movies twice. ''Der König der Bernina'' (The King of Bernina) was originally filmed in the United States in 1929 (directed by

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

and starring

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...

), under the title '' Eternal Love''. It was filmed again in 1957 ('' Der König der Bernina)'' by a Swiss-Austrian coproduction company, and directed by . ''An heiligen Wassern'' (On Holy Waters) was filmed in Germany in 1932 by

Erich Waschneck Erich John Waschneck (29 April 1887, in Grimma, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 September 1970, in Berlin) was a German cameraman, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Erich was the son of Karl Hermann Waschneck, a blacksmith, and his ...

, under the title '' Stürzende Wasser'' (Sacred Water), and again in 1960 by the Swiss director,

Alfred Weidenmann Alfred Weidenmann (10 May 1916 – 9 June 2000) was a German film director, screenwriter, and author of children's books. He directed more than 30 films between 1942 and 1984. Selected filmography * ' (1942) * ' (1944) * ''I and You'' (195 ...

('' An Heiligen Wassern'').

Memorials

On a hill in Winterthur, there is a "Gedenkstein" (commemorative stone), donated by the city of

Poschiavo Poschiavo (, , , ) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bernina Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Poschiavo is first mentioned in 824 as ''in Postclave'' though this comes from a l ...

. In ''Der König der Bernina'' the main character, Markus Paltram, is inspired by a hunter and

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

named , who was from that area. Heer is buried nearby. He had originally wanted to be buried in another location closer to town but, by the time he died, a slaughterhouse was being built near there. A second stone was placed in

Pontresina Pontresina () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sa ...

, on a spot with a view of the

Piz Bernina Piz Bernina (Romansh language, Romansh, , ) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises and is located south of Pontresina in the Bernina Region and ne ...

References

External links