Meinrad Lienert

Who was Meinrad Lienert?

The Swiss writer Meinrad Lienert is most noted for his works in the Swiss German dialect. After finishing his studies of law, he became notary in his native town of Einsiedeln. Together with two partners he then took over the local newspaper "Einsiedler Anzeiger" in 1891 and became its editor.

In 1899 he moved to Zurich where he was initially the editor of the newspaper "Die Limmat" but later established himself as an independent writer. In 1919 he returned to journalism becoming the editor of the "Zürcher Volkszeitung". In the same year he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich. In 1923 he returned to his native town of Einsiedeln. On 26 December 1933 he died in Küsnacht.

Meinrad Lienert published his first stories in the Swiss German dialect in the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung". These were later published under the name "Flüehblüemli. The poem collection "s Schwäbelpfyffli" belongs to his most important dialect works. Apart from that he wrote countless short stories and novels in standard German. The most important are: Swiss Tales and Heroic Stories, The King of Euland, The Double Mathias and his Daughters.