Ernst Zahn
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Ernst Zahn (24 January 1867 in
Zürich, Switzerland Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
– 12 February 1952 in
Meggen Meggen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lucerne (district), Lucerne in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. History Meggen is first mentioned in 1226 as ''Meken'', thou ...
) was a
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
author. His writing took its themes from Swiss local life.


Biography

In 1873 his father, an innkeeper, bought a hotel at
Siders Sierre (; ; ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 18,020. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun () for its average of 300 days of sunshine a year. It is th ...
in the canton of Wallis, and here Ernst obtained his first instruction in the Protestant Elementary School. In 1875, he went to Zurich, where his grandparents took charge of him and sent him to the public schools, later (for three years) to the gymnasium. His father leased, in 1880, the restaurant in the railroad station at Goschenen, at the entrance to the Saint Gotthard Tunnel, and here Zahn worked as a waiter in 1883. For a year and a half he also attended the Breidenstein International Boys' School at
Grenchen Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...
,
canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...
. In all these various capacities, and in spite of a much interrupted education, he was energetically pursuing every opportunity that presented itself to him for increasing his knowledge. In the winter of 1885 he again worked as a waiter at Hotel Beaurivage,
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. In the winter of 1886, he was at
Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, England, learning the language. In 1887 he was hotel clerk at the Hotel de la Ville,
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. He returned to his father's restaurant in 1888, becoming a partner in 1894 and taking sole charge in 1897. The town of Goschenen made him a town councillor, and one of his first acts in office was to cause the erection of a monument for the constructor of the Mount Saint Gotthard Tunnel and for the many laborers who met their death during its construction. In 1902 he became judge of the
Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...
Criminal Court, in 1904 a member of the Cantonal Council of Uri, in 1908 its president. He received the honorary degree of Ph.D. from the University of Geneva in 1909.


Works

* ''Stephan der Schmied'' (English tr. in ''German Classics'', v. XIX, New York, 1914) * ''Herzens-Kämpfe'', narration, 1893 * ''Erni Behaim'', historical novel, Stuttgart 1898 * ''Albin Indergand'', novel, Frauenfeld 1901 * ''Schattenhalb'', three narrations, 1904 * ''Die Clari-Marie'', novel, Frauenfeld 1905 * ''Die Helden des Alltags'', 1905 (20th ed., 1912) * ''Verena Stadler'', narration, Frauenfeld 1906 * ''Firnwind'', 1906 * ''Lukas Hochstrassers Haus'', novel, Frauenfeld 1907 * ''Einsamkeit'', 1910 * ''Die Frauen von Tannò'', novel, Frauenfeld 1911 * ''Der Apotheker von Klein Weltwil'', Stuttgart 1913 * ''Die Liebe des Severin Imboden'', novel, Frauenfeld 1916 * ''Einmal muss wieder Friede werden'', narrations, Stuttgart 1916 * ''Nacht'', narration, Frauenfeld 1917 * ''Der Lästerer'', narration, Frauenfeld, 1917 * ''Blancheflur'', narration, Berlin 1923 * '' Frau Sixta. Ein Roman aus den Bergen'', Düsseldorf 1926 * ''Die tausendjährige Strasse'', novel, 1939


Notes


Sources

*


Further reading

* Ernst Kammerhoff: ''Ernst Zahn. Seine Dichtung und ihre Deutung.'' Stuttgart and also: Dt. Verl-Anst. 1917. * Karl Kohl: ''Ernst Zahn als Dichter und Mensch.'' Heidelberg-Waibstadt: Kemper 1947.


External links

*
Texts from Ernst Zahn (German Project Gutenberg)






* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Ernst Swiss hoteliers Swiss writers in German 1867 births 1952 deaths Swiss male novelists 19th-century Swiss novelists 20th-century Swiss novelists 19th-century Swiss male writers 20th-century Swiss male writers Writers from Zurich