Jean-Baptiste "Batty" Weber (1860–1940) is considered to have been one of

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 ...

's most influential journalists and authors, contributing much to the development of the country's national identity. His style is characterized by his sense of humour and skillful use of irony.

Early life

Born on 25 November 1860 in

Rumelange Rumelange (; ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with List of towns in Luxembourg, town status in south-western Luxembourg, on the border with France. Populated places The commune consists of the following villages: * Rumelange * Haut-Té ...

in south-western Luxembourg, he was the son of the local schoolmaster, Michel Weber, and his wife Marie-Catherine Klein. The family soon moved to

Stadtbredimus Stadtbredimus () is a commune and small town in south-eastern 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 ea ...

on the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

where Weber spent much of his childhood. After attending the Athénée 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 ...

, he studied philology at the universities of Berlin and Bonn, developing an interest in the theatre. Batty Weber married Emma Brugmann 23 July 1904.

Career

After his studies, Weber started to work in Luxembourg's civil service administration, developing his skills as a stenographer. Not satisfied with administrative work, he began to contribute to newspapers publishing his first short story "Mein Freund Günther" in '' Das Luxemburger Land'' in 1883. He was soon contributing both news articles and short stories to newspapers at home and abroad. After "Wolf Frank" (1887) was published in the '' Luxemburger Zeitung'', Weber began to contribute to the ''Escher Zeitung'' with "Bella Ghitta" (1889), his first story about the mining area of the south, followed by "Hart am Abgrund" (1890), "Der Amerikaner" (1891) and "Die Verderberin" (1891). In 1893, he became editor in chief at the ''Luxemburger Zeitung''.Sylvie Kremer-Schmit, "Batty Weber"
''Ons stad'', No 35, 1990. Retrieved 2 February 2011. Weber also began to write poems in

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

including "Dem Jabbo seng Kap" which is still popular in Luxembourg today. His once highly successful but now forgotten first novel ''Fenn Kass, Roman eines Erlösten'' draws on his schooldays in Luxembourg. It was serialized in the ''Kölnische Zeitung'' in 1912 before being published in book form the following year. While his novels were written in German, most of the numerous light-hearted plays from 1895 to 1922 were in Luxembourgish although ''A Mondorf'' (1900) and ''Le couscous de la belle-mère'' were in French. In 1923, in connection with Dicks' 100th anniversary, he published his "Erënnerongen un den Dicks". Weber also did much to promote Luxembourg's budding cultural talents including authors such as Alex Weicker, Marie-Henriette Steil, Albert Hoefler, and Emile Marx and the painters

Joseph Kutter Joseph Jean Ferdinand Kutter (1894–1941) is considered one of Luxembourg's most important painters. He was greatly influenced by the Impressionists but developed his own distinctive Expressionist style. Early life Kutter was born on 12 Dece ...

, Harry Rabinger, Jean Schaak and

Nico Klopp Nico Klopp (1894–1930) was a Luxembourgish painter remembered above all for his post-impressionist paintings of scenes on the Moselle river where he lived. Early life Born on 18 September 1894 at Bech-Kleinmacher on the Moselle in south-eastern ...

. One of Weber's most important contributions to Luxembourg's identity was his "Abreisskalender", a daily column he contributed from 1913 to 1940 to the ''Luxemburger Zeitung'', commenting on items of local cultural interest. In 1904 (23 July 1904), he married Emma Brugmann. Batty Weber died in Luxembourg City on 14 December 1940, and was buried in the Notre-Dame Cemetery.

Batty Weber Prize

Since 1987, the Batty Weber Prize, Luxembourg's national literary prize, has been awarded to a Luxembourgish writer for their entire literary work.

Selected works

* 1882: ''Mein Freund Günther'' * 1889: ''Bella Ghita'' * 1890: ''Hart am Abgrund'' * 1891: ''Der Amerikaner'' * 1891: ''Verderberin'' * 1909: ''Über Mischkultur in Luxemburg'' * 1912: ''Fenn Kaß'' * 1922: ''Nick Carter auf dem Dorf'' * 1923: ''Der Inseltraum'' * 1926: ''Hände'' Bernd Schellenberg in Letzeburger Bliedchen, No. 102, July 2013, page 14 (German), edited by Luxemburger Freundeskreis Rhein-Main e.v.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Batty Luxembourgian male writers Luxembourgian journalists Luxembourgian male journalists 1860 births 1940 deaths German-language writers Luxembourgian writers in French Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg People from Rumelange University of Bonn alumni Luxembourgian dramatists and playwrights Luxembourgian poets Luxembourgian novelists Male short story writers Male poets Male novelists Male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Luxembourgian writers 20th-century Luxembourgian writers