Davos leaves

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The Davoser Blätter was a weekly entertainment newspaper for the spa guests of Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . They appeared in German from 1872, later also in English, French and Russian.

history

Bored spa guests want to be entertained

Davos was discovered as a climatic health resort in the second half of the 19th century. Numerous hotels and sanatoriums were built in quick succession. At that time, the illustrious spa guests could hardly be offered any sporting activities. They cured passively for months (on deck chairs, for example). The need for social events and easy entertainment was all the greater.

Caricatures cause outrage

In 1870 the first forerunners of the «Davoser Blätter» appeared, handwritten by students and with a humorous content. From 1872 the young German bookseller M. H. Wirth published the "Davoser Fliegende Blätter", initially in an edition of only 100 copies. In the first few years they were printed in Basel. Wirth wrote in the newspaper in a satirical way about the “who's who” of the spa guests. In particular, his vicious caricatures were sometimes received with anger.

Professionalization

In 1875, Wirth simplified the title of the guest newspaper to «Davoser Blätter». At the same time he introduced the regular weekly publication and wrote not only entertainment articles but also reports on the events in the health resort.

Change of publisher and diversification

In 1881 Hugo Richter took over the “Davoser Blätter” and almost at the same time founded the “Wochenblatt für die Landschaft Davos”, which later became the Davoser Zeitung . From now on, both sheets were printed in Richter's new printing press in Davos: the “Davoser Blätter” for the entertainment of the spa guests and the “Wochenblatt für die Landschaft Davos” as a political newspaper for the local population. Due to complaints, Richter had to delete the caricatures in the “Davoser Blätter”. For this, the much-noticed guest lists were given more space.

Other language editions

The increasingly international origin of the guests called for editions of the «Davoser Blätter» in other languages. "The Davos Courier" (English) was published for the first time in 1888 and "Le courier de Davos" (French) in 1898. In 1909 and 1910, the Russian-language «Evropejikie Kurorty» appeared.

Inherited to the tourist office

Before he died in 1921, Hugo Richter ceded the “Davoser Blätter” to the tourist office.

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