Aline Mayrisch de Saint-Hubert née de Saint-Hubert (22 August 1874 – 20 January 1947) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

campaigner, socialite, philanthropist. Mayrisch established many non-governmental organisations and was President of the

Luxembourg Red Cross The Luxembourg Red Cross (, ) is the Luxembourg-based National Society of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was established on 8 August 1914 by Émile and Aline Mayrisch. They persuaded the mayor of Luxembourg ...

. She married

Émile Mayrisch Jacob Émile Albert Mayrisch (10 October 1862 – 5 March 1928) was a Luxembourgish industrialist and businessman. He served as president of Arbed. He was married to Aline Mayrisch de Saint-Hubert, Aline de Saint-Hubert, who was a famous women ...

Life

Saint-Hubert was the daughter of Xavier de Saint-Hubert, and sister of Jeanne de Saint-Hubert, who had married

Xavier Brasseur François Xavier Brasseur (19 October 1865 – 4 July 1912) was a Luxembourgish politician and jurist. Brasseur was educated at the Athénée de Luxembourg, graduating in 1884. Afterwards, he studied law, graduating on 17 June 1890, and began ...

the previous year (and would marry Brasseur's cousin,

Robert Brasseur Robert Brasseur (19 November 1870 – 15 February 1934) was a Luxembourgish politician, jurist, and journalist. Born in Luxembourg, Brasseur was educated at the Athénée de Luxembourg, before studying law at University of Strasbourg and in Paris ...

, in 1914).Mersch (1963), p. 471 She married the industrialist

, who would become President of the steel giant

Arbed The Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange ( French; literally "United Steelworks of Burbach-Eich-Dudelange"), better known by its acronym ARBED, was a major Luxembourg-based steel- and iron-producing company. Created in 1911 after the merg ...

, on 15 September 1894. Together, they lived in

Dudelange Dudelange (; ; ) is a commune with town status in southern Luxembourg. It is the fourth-most populous commune, with 22,043 inhabitants. Dudelange is situated close to the border with France. The commune also includes the smaller town of Bude ...

. The first of many organisations that she set up was the ' League for the Defence of the Women's Interests' () in 1905.Mersch (1963), p. 471 Saint-Hubert offered the patronage to Hereditary Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide, but she declined, as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

feminist organisation was due to be set up. The league's main purposes was to seek the establishment of public girls' schools, which gained momentum with the League's creation of the associated Association for the Creation of a School for Young Girls. This campaign achieved success in 1911 when the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

unanimously voted to establish publicly funded girls' schools in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

and

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (, ; ; or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is a city in Luxembourg and the country's List of communes of Luxembourg by population, second-most populous commune, with a population of 36,625 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the ...

.Mersch (1963), p. 472 At the same time, Mayrisch persuaded a group of other prominent Luxembourgish ladies to establish the Association of Girl Guides. She was active in work for charitable organisations such as the Luxembourgish League against Tuberculosis, and the Luxembourgish Red Cross, as well as advocating for the professionalisation of social work. On the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Saint-Hubert set up a hospital near Dudelange, for the aid of servicemen of either side. After the war, she played a key role in setting up the Luxembourgish League Against Tuberculosis, of which she was Vice-President. She and her husband Émile were the main donors to the League and her other endeavours over the years. She soon became involved in the Luxembourg Red Cross, being appointed a member of its administrative council in 1926, Vice-President after the death of Émile in 1928, and President in 1933.Mersch (1963), p. 473 She and her husband moved to Colpach in 1920, and after the war they received many German and French intellectuals here under the name of ''Cercle de Colpach'', such as

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

Jean Guéhenno Jean Guéhenno born Marcel-Jules-Marie Guéhenno (25 March 1890 – 22 September 1978) was a French essayist, writer and literary critic. Life and career Jean Guéhenno, writer and educator, was a prominent contributor to the NRF. He was edit ...

Jacques Rivière Jacques Rivière (15 July 1886 – 14 February 1925) was a French " man of letters" — a writer, critic and editor who was "a major force in the intellectual life of France in the period immediately following World War I". He edited the ...

Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (; ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work ''General Psychopathology'' influenced many ...

Bernard Groethuysen Bernard Groethuysen (9 September 1880 – 17 September 1946) was a French writer and philosopher. His works, which transgressed the confines of history and sociology, concern the history of mentalities and representations and the interpretation ...

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...

, Jean Schlumberger,

Ernst Robert Curtius Ernst Robert Curtius (; 14 April 1886 – 19 April 1956) was a German literary scholar, philologist, and Romance languages literary critic, best known for his 1948 study ''Europäische Literatur und Lateinisches Mittelalter'', translated in E ...

Annette Kolb Annette Kolb (pseudonym of Anna Mathilde Kolb) was an author, journalist, emigrée and pacifist. Life Kolb was born on 3 February 1870 in Munich, the daughter of a French pianist mother and a German landscape architect father. She was an auth ...

and

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972), was a politician, philosopher, and count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of the Paneuropean ...

. They turned their old house in Dudelange into a home for children, the ''Fondation Kreuzberg''. During World War II, she lived in

Cabris Cabris (; ; Italian: ''Cabri'', formerly) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The commune, just east of Grasse, is part of Préalpes d'Azur Regional Natural Park. Th ...

in the south of France.

Art and literature

Aline Mayrisch had a great interest in arts and literature and saw herself as a mediator between the German and French cultural worlds. From 1898, she published articles on German painters and literary criticisms, amongst others on ''

L'Immoraliste ''The Immoralist'' () is a novel by André Gide, published in France in 1902. Plot ''The Immoralist'' is a recollection of events that Michel narrates to his three visiting friends. One of those friends solicits job search assistance for Miche ...

'' by André Gide, in the Belgian avant-gardist review ''L'Art moderne''. She maintained friendships and correspondences with numerous writers and intellectuals, such as André Gide, Jean Schlumberger, Jacques Rivière,

Henri Michaux Henri Michaux (; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenhei ...

, Marie and

Théo van Rysselberghe Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian Neo-impressionism, neo-impressionist Painting, painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. Bi ...

Marie Delcourt Marie Delcourt (Ixelles, 18 November 1891 – Liège, 11 February 1979) was a Belgian classical philologist. She studied at the University of Liège (ULg), and obtained a PhD in classical philology in 1919. Under the German occupation of Belgium d ...

Alexis Curvers Alexis Curvers (24 February 1906, Liège – 7 February 1992) was a French-speaking Belgian writer. He was married to hellenist Marie Delcourt. Biography Alexis Curvers' mother died when he was three years old and his father when he was ninet ...

, Annette Kolb, Gertrude Eysoldt, Ernst Robert Curtius and Bernhard Groethuysen. In 1914, she accompanied André Gide and Henri Ghéon to Turkey and in 1927, she travelled to the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

and the

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

with Ernst Robert Curtius. In Colpach Castle, she arranged Franco-German encounters at which André Gide could meet

Walther Rathenau Walther Rathenau (; 29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and politician who served as foreign minister of Germany from February 1922 until his assassination in June 1922. Rathenau was one of Germany's leading ...

and Ernst Robert Curtius. Aline Mayrisch also introduced André Gide to the texts of

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

, and in publishing an article on Rilke in the ''Nouvelle Revue Française'', she helped find a French public for the German writer. It was in this same review that she published articles on the intellectual situation in Germany after the First World War, as well as her autobiographical travel account ''Paysages de la trentième année'', which, starting in the island sceneries of Corsica and Iceland, evoked the confrontation with emptiness, absurdity and nothingness. Her unfinished novel ''Andrée Reimenkampf'' has not been preserved for posterity. In collaboration with Marie Delcourt and Bernhard Groethuysen, Aline Mayrisch also translated the sermons of the medieval mystic

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart (), Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart,

, ''L'enfant qui s'accuse'' by Jean Schlumberger and ''Le mythe de Sisyphe. Essai sur l'absurde'' by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

. In the 1930s, Aline Mayrisch financially supported the exile publication ''Maß und Wert,'' edited by

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

. The following works were dedicated to Aline Mayrisch: ''Das literarische Frankreich von Heute'' by Frantz Clément, ''Les Cahiers de la Petite Dame'' by Marie van Rysselberghe and ''La vie d'Euripide'' by Marie Delcourt.

Legacy

The Lycée Aline Mayrisch, open in 2001 in

, the city in which she was born, is named after her.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayrisch De Saint-Hubert, Aline Luxembourgian philanthropists Luxembourgian socialites Luxembourgian feminists 1874 births 1947 deaths People from Luxembourg City Luxembourgian women's rights activists 20th-century Luxembourgian women Catholic feminists 20th-century Luxembourgian people