The Scourge of the Mountains – a Rifle from the "King of the Bernina"

Hunters and many writers of literature can only dream of such figures: Jakob Christoph Heer's Engadin novel "Der König der Bernina" [The King of the Bernina], published in 1900, found hundreds of thousands of readers, and was, at one point, one of the most read books in Germany. The hero of Jakob Christoph Heer's (1859-1925) Heimatroman [a genre of German literature that emerged from the tradition of regional rural prose] was modelled after Gian Marchet Colani (1772-1837). The legendary hunter supposedly shot 2700 chamois – as well as two bears and two wolves.

During Gian Marchet Colani's lifetime, conditions in the Engadin only appeared favourable for wild animals for a brief period: just like many of his contemporaries in the Engadin, the hunter from Chamues-ch sought to earn a living abroad as a confectioner. However, he turned out to be less interested in this "sweet occupation" in France than in gunsmithing. After his return to the Engadin, he worked as a locksmith, innkeeper, mountain guide – and, of course, the game hunter also went on the prowl again.

One of the legendary hunter and gunsmith's weapons can today be found in the Museum Engiadinais in St. Moritz. It is a percussion rifle that Colani made from walnut, iron and brass – and engraved with the noble inscription "Colanÿ".