Count Ludwig von Stainach

Count Ludwig von Stainach is a non-canonical character who was created for the ITV's 2010 adaptation of The Secret of Chimneys. He is a parallel of Count Stanislaus in the original but with significant differences. Like Count Stanislaus, he is a VIP who has come to Chimneys to conduct secret negotiations and is murdered shortly after arrival. Understanding who he is and why he is murdered forms the main thread in the plot.

However Count Ludwig is not Herzoslovakian but Austrian, and he is not royalty travelling incognito but a regular Austrian politician. His negotiations is over an iron ore concession rather than oil. Unlike Count Stanislaus, Count Ludwig has a deeper connection with Chimneys. Early in the negotiations, he sets an unusual condition for the iron ore concession: that he should be given Chimneys. Why he wants the house is at first not clear. But Miss Marple spots him in an old photo which shows that he had been to Chimneys before. This was some 23 years earlier in 1932 at another house party. At that time, Ludwig had been a musician and was a violinist in the orchestra.

Cout Ludwig is portrayed by Anthony Higgins.