Jürg Jenatsch

Jürg Jenatsch (1596-1638) was one of the most controversial figures of the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), preacher, soldier, statesman, a traitor and heretic to some, a patriot and saviour to others. In Swiss history he became the man who pitted his wits against the mighty Richelieu and the Crown of Spain, playing one against the other and rescuing his country from foreign occupation. C.F. Meyer's historical but timeless novel of 1897 tells his story with unique insights into the man and the turbulent times he lived in. The story of the axe is found in chronicles written within weeks of his death. Jenatsch's body was exhumed in 1959, his skull split and remnants of his bloodied clothes still on him. Only recently have official protocols of the incident come to light, naming Bartolomi Wirtsch as the murderer, a member of the Haltenstein brotherhood, closely associated with the Von Plantas.