 Alternative Bank Schweiz in Olten, the former building of Walter Verlag | |
| Founded | 1916 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Otto Walter |
| Successor | Otto F. Walter |
| Country of origin | Switzerland |
| Headquarters location | Olten, Solothurn, Zürich |
| Key people | Otto Walter, Otto F. Walter |
| Nonfiction topics | psychology, tourism |
Walter Verlag was a publishing house founded in 1916 in Olten, Switzerland. In 1994, it was taken over by the Patmos publishing house, and later used again under the label of the Patmos group.
Otto Walter (1899–1944) bought the printing house of the conservative Oltner Nachrichten newspaper in 1915. In 1916, he founded Walter Verlag in Olten as an intellectual bulwark of Catholicism. [1] Walter grew the small business into one of Switzerland's most prestigious printing companies and publishers.
Otto Walter's son, the author Otto F. Walter (1928–1994) was born to a family of 9 children, including Silja Walter (1919–2011) and seven other daughters. The son was seen as his father's successor. Otto F. started a three-year teaching post as a bookseller in Zürich. [2] His father died in 1944. The son first worked in his father's company, then volunteered at a printing company in Cologne and worked as an editor for publisher Jakob Hegner before returning to Walter Verlag. Walter learned the publishing operation starting as a warehousemen and billing clerk, before becoming vice director and joint owner. In 1956 Walter became the manager of the literary editorial. He rebuilt the lineup, which at the end of the 1950s became one of the most innovative publishing addresses. Authors such as Alfred Andersch, Peter Bichsel Helmut Heissenbüttel, Alexander Kluge, Kurt Marti, and Jörg Steiner were published, but not Otto F. Walter. [2]
Walter's program found little support in the conservative company, nor in his Catholic family, despite a stable financial base. Following Ernst Jandl's novel laut und luise in 1966, Otto F. Walter was fired by Walter Verlag, because his increasingly avant-garde views collided with the shareholders of the conservative Catholic publisher. [3] [2] The publishing house suffered from Walter's absence, and in the 1990s it was acquired by the Patmos publishing group.
During the 1960s the complete edition of the works of Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung were published. In the following decades the Psychology according to Jung became influential, inter alia with the works of Verena Kast and Eugen Drewermann, and even Wilhelm Reich's Christusmord was released. The literary programme continued, while travel guides became a pillar.
The publishing house fell into financial difficulties in the early 1990s, and in 1992 Patmos Verlagshaus in Düsseldorf bought it. The Swiss headquarters was moved first to Solothurn, then to Zürich. The publishing house's magazine Sonntag ("Sunday") was taken over in 1994 by CAT Media AG in Baden. The literary work was published in Düsseldorf. As part of Patmos, Walter Verlag largely focused on psychology and self-help. Non-fiction books were published since 2007 under the Patmos brand, which effectively ended the existence of Walter publishing. By the end of 2009, Patmos separated psychology and religion, and re-activated the Walter Verlag, though this lasted only for a year. No books have been published under the label Walter Verlag since 2010.
The Duden is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. The Duden is updated regularly with new editions appearing every four or five years. As of December 2020, it is in its 28th edition. It is printed as twelve volumes, with each volume covering different aspects of the German language such as loanwords, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms, etc.
The Swiss Literary Archives in Bern collects literary estates in all four national languages of Switzerland. It is part of the Swiss National Library operated by the Federal Office of Culture within the Federal Department of Home Affairs.
RCL Benziger is a Roman Catholic book-publishing house founded in 1792 by Joseph Charles Benziger in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. It is currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and operates as a subsidiary of Kendall Hunt Publishing.
Fahr Convent, is a Benedictine convent located in the Swiss municipality of Unterengstringen in the canton of Zürich. Located in different cantons, Einsiedeln Abbey and Fahr Convent form a double monastery, overseen by the male Abbot of Einsiedeln, no converse arrangement appears to be available for the Abbess of Fahr. Fahr and Einsiedeln may be one of the last of such arrangements to survive.
Erika Burkart was a Swiss writer and poet. She was the recipient of many awards, among them the Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer-Preis, the Gottfried-Keller-Preis, the Joseph-Breitbach-Preis, and the Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-Preis.
Silja Walter was a Swiss author and Benedictine nun in the Fahr Abbey in Switzerland. Born as Cécile Walter in Rickenbach, Solothurn, in Switzerland, at the age of 30 she became a nun: her religious name was Maria Hedwig (OSB). Her brother, Otto F. Walter, was also a popular Swiss author.
Nevfel Cumart is a German author, lecturer, literary translator and journalist of Turkish descent.
Baden railway station serves the municipality of Baden, in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland. Opened in 1847, it is owned and operated by SBB-CFF-FFS.
The Diogenes Verlag is a Swiss publisher in Zurich, founded in 1952 by Daniel Keel, with a focus on literature, plays and cartoons. It has been managed since 2012 by the founder's son, Philipp Keel.
Aniela Jaffé was a Swiss analyst who for many years was a co-worker of Carl Gustav Jung. She was the recorder and editor of Jung's semi-autobiographical book Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
Der Landbote, commonly shortened to Landbote, is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published in Winterthur, Switzerland.
Marianne Ehrmann was one of the first women novelists, publicists and journalists in the German-speaking countries.
Otto F. Walter was a Swiss publisher, author and novelist, which is well known in the German language countries. Otto Friedrich Walter was the younger brother of Silja Walter, a Benedictine nun in the Fahr Abbey and also a popular writer.
Limmat Verlag is a Swiss publishing house, headquartered at Quellenstrasse 25, 8003 Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 1975 in Zürich, it is specialized in political history.
Blanche Christine Olschak (1913-1989) was an Austrian journalist and writer, Tibetan specialist and wrote the first comprehensive encyclopedia of women in the world.
The Manesse Verlag is a German publishing house for classical literature, founded in 1944 in Zürich in Switzerland. It belongs today to Random House publishing group based in Munich. The publishing house is mainly known for its library of world literature. It also publishes first and new translations of classical works. Manesse is directed by Horst Lauinger.
Gertrud Leutenegger is a German-speaking Swiss poet, novelist, playwright and theatre director.
Adolf Keller was a Swiss Protestant theologian, professor and Secretary-General of the European Central Office for Ecclesiastical Aid.
Gottfried Jäger is a German photographer, photo-theorist and former university teacher.
Thomas Honegger is a scholar of literature, known especially for his studies of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.
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