Walther Merz

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Walther Merz in 1931 in the former premises of the Aargau State Archives

Walther Merz (born June 6, 1868 in Menziken ; † February 24, 1938 in Aarau ; resident in Menziken) was a Swiss lawyer and historian .

life and work

After attending the Cantonal School in Aarau, Walther Merz studied law in Basel , Bern and Munich , with Andreas Heusler in particular having a great influence on him as a legal historian . In 1891 Merz received his doctorate from the University of Bern and then completed a legal internship in the office of Councilor of States Peter Emil Isler in Aarau. He passed the bar exam and first settled in Menziken as an advocate , but shortly afterwards he joined the cantonal administration as legal secretary. In 1900 he was elected to the cantonal high court, to which he belonged until 1929. In 1901 Merz founded the quarterly journal for Aargau jurisprudence , which he headed for 30 years in a row.

As early as 1898, Walther Merz had compiled the legal sources for the city of Aarau and then, in collaboration with Friedrich Emil Welti, compiled them for all cities in Aarau. In addition to legal history, Merz also worked on regional history topics. He published the fundamentals of the history of the castles and towns in the cantons of Aargau and Sisgau , today's Northwestern Switzerland , published various document books and compiled inventories of Aargau city archives. Under Hector Ammann , Walther Merz began in 1929 at the Aargau State Archives with the reorganization of the "Old Archives", the holdings of documents, files and books of the canton's legal predecessors. This extensive work resulted in the publication of a two-volume repertory in 1935 .

In 1910 Merz was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Basel and in 1923 by the city of Aarau with an honorary citizenship . His estate is in the Aargau State Archives.

Publications (selection)

  • The Rore tower in Aarau . In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde , Vol. 1, 1902, pp. 248–260. ( Digitized version )
  • Brunegg Castle. In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde , Vol. 2, 1903, pp. 274–300. ( Digitized version )
  • The coat of arms of Zurich. A heraldic monument d. 14th century in true color replica d. Originals with d. Coat of arms from the house to the hole. Füssli, Zurich 1930. Digitized
  • Repertory of the Aargau State Archives (2 vols.), 1935 ( vol. 1 , vol. 2 ).
  • Legal sources of the canton of Aargau (partly together with Friedrich Emil Welti, 9 vols.), 1898–1933.
  • The history of the city of Aarau in the Middle Ages , 1928.
  • The castles of Sisgau (4 vol.), 1908–1913.
  • The beginnings of Zofingen . In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde , Vol. 12, 1913, pp. 281–311. ( Digitized version )
  • The castles and fortifications of the canton of Aargau (2 vol.), 1904–1906.

literature

  • Hector Ammann: Walther Merz . In: Argovia 65 (1953), pp. 349-355.
  • Friedrich Emil Welti (Ed.) Et al .: Festschrift Walther Merz . Sauerlander, Aarau 1928.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Merz, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss lawyer and historian
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Menziken
DATE OF DEATH February 24, 1938
Place of death Aarau