Alfred Altherr

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Gravestone of Alfred Altherr in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery in Basel

Alfred Altherr (born March 14, 1843 in Grub ; † January 18, 1918 in Basel ) was a Swiss Protestant clergyman and writer .

Life

Alfred Altherr was the son of the baker Johannes Altherr and his wife Anna Barbara (née Niederer), a hand embroiderer. He came from a family that lived in impoverished circumstances, and whose house was auctioned in 1854 according to a decree of the poor authority. This led to the separation of the children from the family, and he was sent to an orphanage in Speicher ; later his three sisters followed him. At the same time, Johann Heinrich Krüsi was staying in the orphanage , who later became Thomas Alva Edison's assistant and with whom he had to do weaving work together.

After changing the position of the orphan father, Alfred Altherr came to the Trogen Cantonal School in 1857 and attended a preliminary course at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich in 1862 ; he then studied theology at the University of Zurich .

In 1867 he was ordained in Herisau , and until 1871 he was pastor in Lichtensteig , then from 1871 to 1874 in Rorschach and from 1874 to 1911 in the Leonhardskirche in Basel.

In 1878 he founded the Basel holiday care scheme for poor schoolchildren in need of relaxation .

Alfred Altherr had been married to Henriette, daughter of Johann Heinrich Pfenninger, pastor in Laufen , since 1868 . The names of their children are known:

  • Alfred Johann Altherr (born December 23, 1875 in Basel, † September 11, 1945 in Herrliberg ), museum director
  • Heinrich Altherr ( born April 11, 1878 in Basel, † April 27, 1947 in Zurich), painter, married to Wilhelmine, daughter of the secret medical council August Fauser in Stuttgart .

Alfred Altherr was buried in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery in Basel.

Spiritual work

Alfred Altherr was Basel's first free-spirited pastor and he was one of the most important exponents of the church reform movement, which advocated a Christianity that was detached from confession and dogma .

Writing

Alfred Altherr wrote various books and worked as the founder and editor of magazines; from 1870 to 1876 he was the first editor of the Religiös Volksblatt and together with Emanuel Linder he founded the Schweizerische Protestantenblatt in 1878 , of which he was editor until his death; from 1906 Hans Baur was co-editor and editor. In addition to theological works, biographies, travelogues and stories, his memoirs are particularly noteworthy. Their first volume was published in Zurich in 1897 under the title Beckenfridli. Story of a poor boy .

Trivia

Alfred Altherr was the pastor with whom Emilie Kempin-Spyri , the first female lawyer in Switzerland, to whom every conceivable obstacle was put in the way by the male establishment, from the Friedmatt insane asylum in Basel, where she was finally interned, turned in vain in 1899 applied for a job as a maid.

honors and awards

Fonts (selection)

  • Inaugural sermon on 2. Mos. 3, 1–6: held on August 11, 1867. Lichtensteig 1867.
  • The Church of the New Covenant: Sermon May 3, 1874 in St. Martin's Church in Basel. Basel 1874.
  • Inaugural sermon held in St. Leonhard's Church in Basel on October 4, 1874. Basel 1874.
  • The Importance of the Bible for Religious, Moral, and Social Life: A Lecture. Association book printing, Basel 1880.
  • Theodor Hoffmann-Merian: a picture of life based on his own records. Schwabe, Basel 1889.
  • Biblical teaching. J. Frehner, Basel 1890.
  • Theodor Parker represented in his life and work. St. Gallen 1894.
  • Beckenfriedli. Zurich 1897.
  • Alfred Bitzius, a model of free piety: lecture. Frehner, Basel 1898.
  • The fatal alms: a story. Haller, Bern 1898.
  • The doctrine of the Son of God presented to the people. Schünemann, Bremen 1904.
  • Friedrich von Schiller in its importance for religion. Publishers of the Swiss Association for Free Christianity, printed by G. Böhm, Basel 1905.
  • The children of Mrs. Schuhr: a story. Haller, Bern 1907.
  • with Theodor Wiget: Our experience and our belief. Pagans 1908.
  • A farewell word from Pastor Alfred Altherr to his community and friends. Frick, Zurich 1911.
  • Father's words on your life's journey: In memory of the confirmation for daughters. Beer, Zurich 1915.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ orphanage - WikiSpeicher. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
  2. ^ Alfred Altherr (1843-1918). Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
  3. ^ Archives of the Commission for Holiday Provision for Poor Schoolchildren in Need of Recreation (Foundation since 1900, Basel Foundation for Holiday Colonies since 1967). Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Doctors in the Empire. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
  5. ↑ The Wolfgottesacker. Building Department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt - Stadtgärtnerei, 2006, accessed on October 7, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Altherr, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss evangelical reformed clergyman and writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 14, 1843
PLACE OF BIRTH Grub
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1918
Place of death Basel