Heinrich Altherr (writer)

Portrait of the writer Heinrich Altherr in 1960 in the Gasthaus Schäfli in St. Gallen. (Herbert Maeder, photographer)

Heinrich Altherr (born September 2, 1909 in Gais ; † August 26, 1993 in Herisau ; resident in Urnäsch ) was a Swiss teacher and dialect writer from the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden .

Life

Heinrich Altherr was married to Alina Knechtle. He attended the schools in Gais and later the teachers' seminar in Kreuzlingen . From 1930 to 1945 he worked as a primary school teacher in Waldstatt and Herisau, where he taught until 1976. He worked on the commission for school and youth books. After his retirement he was editor of the Appenzell calendar from 1976 to 1988 .

In his books for young people, Heinrich Altherr revealed a “special empathy for the world of adolescents” ( Ferdi , 1944). Later works such as Oeser Gattig Lüüt (1954) and Sonnesits ond schattehalb (1979) show him as a “masterful narrator in Appenzell dialect”. To mark the 450th anniversary of the Land of Appenzell joining the federal government, Heinrich Altherr, who was very active in the cultural community in his shared apartment, wrote the Appenzell, the Land Festival (1963, together with Hans Meier).

Works

• Ferdi. A story from the present told for young people. Aarau: Sauerland around 1945.
• Öser Gattig Lüüt. Zeä Gschichte n in the Appezeller dialect. With pen drawings by Alfred Kobel. Teufen: A. Niggli ond Willy Sale 1954.
• Appenzell the land. A game in four parts to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Appenzell's membership in the Confederation in 1513/1963. For the performance by the secondary school students at the Herisau Children's Festival in 1963. With the collaboration of Hans Meier. Herisau: Schläpfer 1963.
• Sunshine and shade. Gschichte, Saage and different in the Appezellerdialekt. Herisau: Schläpfer 1979.
• Reading samples in the Appenzell anthology , accessed on March 26, 2020.
• Further works in the catalog of the Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cantonal Library , accessed on March 26, 2020.

literature

• Stefan Sonderegger: The Appenzell dialect in the past and present. In: Appenzellische Jahrbücher 114/1987 (1988), pages 5-69. Web access via e-periodica.ch
• Georg Thürer: Heinrich Altherr (1909–1993). In: Appenzellische Jahrbücher 121/1994 (1995), pages 98-100. Web access via e-periodica.ch

Web links

• Georg Thürer: Heinrich Altherr. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . May 17, 2001 , accessed March 24, 2020 .

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