Hermann Altherr

Hermann Altherr

Hermann Altherr (born February 28, 1848 in Schwellbrunn ; † November 4, 1927 in Heiden , both in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden ) was a Swiss doctor who was considered a benefactor and doctor of the poor. From 1892 to 1910 he cared for Henry Dunant , the founder of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement , in a hospital in Heiden. During this time he was one of Dunant's few confidants. Together with his wife, he was one of the few people Dunant considered in his will.

Life

Hermann Altherr was born the son of a pastor. He attended secondary school in Herisau and the canton school in Trogen . He completed his medical studies , which he completed in Basel , with a doctorate in 1872 . He then worked as an assistant doctor in Basel and St. Gallen before opening a private practice in Heiden in 1874. In addition to his own practice, he also worked as a hospital doctor in the local hospital. In 1876 he married Emma Simond , a French woman born in Chamonix who had lived in Heiden since 1860. Emma Altherr ran the Freihof and Schweizerhof spa hotels in Heiden , which were among the most respected spa houses in the area and contributed to Heiden's international reputation as a spa. From 1884 to 1904 Hermann Altherr was a cantonal councilor , from 1903 to 1908 a constitutional councilor. In the parliamentary elections in 1905 he succeeded in entering the National Council , to which he belonged until 1911. In addition, he was a member from 1874 to 1927 and from 1900 to 1922 President of the Board of Directors of the Rorschach-Heiden-Bergbahn . His wife was significantly involved in the initiative to build the railway.

Care of Henry Dunant

From April 30, 1892, he granted Henry Dunant accommodation in Heidener Spital, after he had previously lived in pensions in Heiden and Trogen from 1887. In addition to occasional health-related stays in the hospital, Dunant got to know Altherr and his wife through his regular visits to the Freihof , as he appreciated the international atmosphere of the house. Dunant spent the last 18 years of his life in Altherr's care until his death on October 30, 1910. A close friendship developed between the two. The origin of Altherr's wife gave Dunant the opportunity to talk to someone in his native French in the seclusion and seclusion of his life in German-speaking Heiden .

Web links

• Thomas Fuchs: Altherr, Hermann. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Publications by Hermann Altherr in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library