Walram of Thierstein
Count Walram III. of Thierstein - Pfeffingen (also Walram or Walraff of Thierstein; * before 1339, † May 22, 1403 ) was Lord of the Manor of Pfeffingen from the family of the Counts of Thierstein. The Count was with Adelheid of Hohenlohe ( * before 1341, † 1381 ), married.
Legend of the earthquake
On Tuesday, October 18, 1356 the Count rode along with the Knights of Bärenfels Pfeffingen against the city of Basel. After a successful hunt, the two were very boisterous and not at first noticed the pilgrim priest who came to meet them at Reinach on the dusty road. The priest had to get by jumping in front of the coming horsemen therefore safe. The Count and the knight reined in their horses and it welcomed the mortally frightened priest cheerfully. This calmed down and admonished the two riders to be quiet and cautious, so not really done another disaster.
The Knight of Bärenfels but burst into a mocking laugh, and finally both mocked the priest and went away from him. On the way towards Basel Count Walram was always thoughtful and dejected. He began to make allegations about their behavior and the bad conscience tormented him more and more. Just before the gates of the city of Basel, he decided to turn back and turned after a short farewell to the Knights of Bärenfels his horse. He wanted to return home, while looking for the man of God and apologize to him for his behavior. He could not find and rode back to his castle priest. As he was crossing a wide field, he heard a dull roll and the floor under his feet began to shake violently. Anxiously, his horse reared and the Count looked in horror as around coincided the proud castles of Pfeffingen, rich stone, Birseck and in Dornach and large clouds of smoke rose into the sky. After the strongest tremors of disturbed count rode quickly to his castle Pfeffingen, which had suffered extensive damage. Fortunately, however, his family was unharmed and the youngest child lay in his cradle among the ruins of the castle.
The Knight of Bärenfels, however, was surprised when riding through the city gate by the earthquake and killed by a falling stone.
After the earthquake was the Count of gratitude for his miraculous escape in Reinach, build the encounter with the priest, a cross on the spot. This crooked cross reminds mankind since the reuemütige reversal of Count Walram, to the fateful death of the Knight of Bärenfels and the big earthquake, which laid the city of Basel and the nearby region in 1356 to rubble. The cross was renewed several times and added the last time by a few meters away from the busy main road between Pfeffingen and Basel.