Wilhelm in 1925.
Wilhelm Ritter was a Schattenjäger living in Schloss Ritter.
Background[]
He was the father of Wolfgang Ritter and Heinz Ritter. He took care of his sons in the early 20th century up to around mid-1920s. At some point after 1925, Heinz came to america, and changed his name to Harrison.
Day 1, Gabriel moves a clock from on top of a chest to a nearby chair in Rebecca Knight's attic. After fiddling with it, and its learning its secret (then turning the winding key), he opens it. Inside, he learns about Wilhelm Ritter from a photo hidden in a secret compartment. It showed Wilhelm with his sons Heinz and Wolfgang at Schloss Ritter in 1925. He also finds a letter (Ritter letter) addressed to his son Heinz, it was urgent and discussed the Schattenjägers.
The clock can be opened anywhere between Day 1 and Day 4. It must be opened by Day 4 in order to confirm Wolfgang's identity, and return a call to him. The official hintbook states it was opened on Day 1. The clock can also be opened on the chest, or moved over and opened on a nearby old parlor table.
Personality and traits[]
There is a sense of urgency in his handwriting and in the heavy use of a quill tip, bold strokes, and underlining.
Wilhelm is shown to wear dark or black clothing. In the original he seems to wear black priest-like shirt with a high neck collar. He parted his hair to one side. He doesn't appear to have a smile, but a determined look (perhaps even a hint of a frown).
See also[]
Behind the scenes[]
In the Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (novel), his name is Karl Ritter.
With the letter, Gabriel finds a picture of his grandfather, Heinz Ritter, his granduncle, Wolfgang Ritter, and his great-grandfather, Wilhelm Ritter. It's dated Schloss Ritter, 1925
However, the Narraror also says that the photo was about fifty years old give or take (c. 1943)… and that Wolfgang was in his seventies (so about 20 years old in 1943).
The date of when letter was sent is not known. The specification "West Germany" in the address is strange, as Germany was not separated when photo was taken. Germany was split into East- and West Germany on 23 May 1949; more than 20 years later. Also, it was reunited on 3 October 1990; three years before the events of the game.
However there a number of issues with dating in the game and age of Wolfgang as he is implied to be seventy in the game (or at least in his seventies he would have been between 2 years and 11 years old in 1925) and the photo is also said to be at least fifty years old giving an alternate date for when it was taken. And GK2 says Wolfgang was born in 1923 (he would have only been 2 years old in 1925). If he is a man in the photo as GK1 status’s, it would have had to have been taken around 1941-1943 when he was around 18-21. If this is the case then the letter may have been sent to America after the war 1949-1950s. This also means that Heinz had to have come to America around 1943-1945 at around age 21.