Jakob Christoph Heer, portrait by Caspar Ritter (c. 1909)His commemorative stone in Winterthur
Jakob Christoph Heer (17 July 1859, Winterthur – 20 August 1925, Zürich) 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. He originally worked as a "vicar" (substitute teacher) in Glattfelden then, in 1882, found a permanent position in Dürnten. His first book, Holidays on the Adriatic, was published in 1888. He became the features editor for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung 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. 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.
On a hill in Winterthur, there is a "Gedenkstein" (commemorative stone), donated by the city of Poschiavo. In Der König der Bernina the main character, Markus Paltram, is inspired by a hunter and gunsmith named Gian Marchet Colani [de], 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.
