As he was crossing a wide field, he heard a dull roll and the ground beneath his feet began to shake violently.

His horse was frightened and reared, and Walram saw to his horror how the proud castles of Pfeffingen, Reichenstein, Birseck, and Dorneck collapsed around him and large smoke clouds rose to the sky.

Walram was grateful for his miraculous escape and erected a cross on the side of the road at the spot where he had met the pilgrim.

The skewed cross reminds passers-by of the earthquake that reduced Basel and the surrounding area to rubble in 1356, and of the remorseful Count Walram and the fateful death of the knight of Bärenfels.

The cross has since been renewed several times, and currently stands a few meters away from the busy main road connecting Basel and Pfeffingen.