«Bündner Ikonen revisited - Jürg Jenatsch und C.F. Meyer»

Heidi, Schellenursli and Jürg Jenatsch have shaped the imagination and visual worlds of Graubünden for generations – their fascination remains unbroken. This year's "LiteraturWissenschaft" series of events, organised by the Institute for Cultural Research Graubünden (ikg) in cooperation with the Cantonal Library of the Grisons, is dedicated to these three "Graubünden icons".

With the clergyman Jürg Jenatsch, who turned into a warrior, the land of the three leagues can boast one of the most fascinating figures of the 17th century as its founding father. What is special about Jenatsch is that he is not a hero, but above all a great traitor. The sacrifice he makes for his country and with which he buys its independence is disloyalty. In the midst of the Thirty Years' War, in which control of Graubünden's passes is of eminent importance, Jenatsch changes sides several times, conquers Valtellina with both the French and the Spanish, first chooses Richelieu as an ally, only to betray him through an agreement with the Habsburgs. And after he has long bloodily defended Protestantism in the country, he finally converts to Catholicism for reasons of opportunity.

Jenatsch has remained in the cultural memory (not only in Switzerland) above all through C.F. Meyer's "Graubünden History", published in 1875. Accordingly, Philipp Theisohn's lecture will be dedicated to the Grisons turmoil as it was shown through the lens of the 19th century, and will ask about the distortions and stylizations that Meyer had to inflict on the world of Jenatsch. What Jenatsch's fate in general and Meyer's story in particular can tell us today will be seen – and discussed.

The event will be moderated by Dr. Cordula Seger (ikg).