Gertrud Villiger-Keller

Gertrud Villiger-Keller (born August 15, 1843 in Lenzburg , † April 5, 1908 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein ) was a leader in the Swiss women's movement and president of the Swiss non-profit women's association .

Gertrud Villiger-Keller was the daughter of the politician Augustin Keller . After she had enjoyed a comprehensive education in her youth, some of which she received at the daughter institute in Aarau (now NKSA) , she married the lawyer Fidel Villiger in 1866. After that, she first devoted herself to raising her children. But she also got involved in local charities. Her motto was "Your strength lies in the non-profit area. Start your work by getting to the root of the evil, a better education of the female sex is above all necessary". From 1887 she presided over the non-profit women's association in Lenzburg. One year after the foundation of the Swiss Charitable Women's Association (SGF), In 1888, she was elected Central President. She headed the association until the end of her life. In addition to the endeavor to promote domestic and servant schools, Anna Heer was supported in founding the nursing school in Zurich under her leadership . She was also involved in the "Bundessocken" campaign, in which 50,000 socks were knitted by women in need for the Swiss Army . During her presidency, the SGF became the largest and at times most influential women's umbrella organization in Switzerland. In 1893 he joined the Swiss Charitable Society and in 1894 joined the Swiss Red Cross as a collective member. Although Villiger verbally distanced herself from any political activity, she knew how to gain official recognition for female achievements in the field of welfare and women's education and to involve the association in the execution of state tasks. From 1895 the federal government subsidized domestic education and in 1899 the SGF was given the task of arranging home work.

Since 2007 the city of Lenzburg has been commemorating the pioneer of the non-profit women's movement with Gertrud Villiger-Platz.

literature

• Johanna Henz: Gertrud Villiger-Keller In: Argovia, annual journal of the Historical Society of the Canton of Aargau. Vol. 65, 1953, pp. 433-437

Web links

• Regula Ludi : Villiger [cellar], Gertrud. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Gertrud Villiger-Keller In: E-Periodica