Seiler Franz

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Biografie:
Franz Seiler (1897-1966)
Dr. Franz Seiler was the grandson of Alexander Seiler. Captain J. P. Farrar, President of the A. C. from 1917-1919, said at an Alpine Club meeting, 'We have with us tonight, Herr Joseph Seiler, grandson of Alexander Seiler, the creator of Zermatt. Few indeed are the Prime Ministers of England whose memory is held in such high esteem by members of this club as that of Alexander Seiler.' None of the great Swiss hotelier dynasties have been so closely associated with the Alpine Club as the Seilers, and of this fact Franz Seiler, elected to our club in 1958, was extremely proud.*) During the years when I was working on my books Zermatt and the Valais and Matterhorn Centenary I saw a great deal of Franz both in Zürich and in his lovely chalet at Randa. I am indebted to him for many shrewd and often entertaining comments on the outlook of the Zermatters, and when we talked about guides I was always impressed by his expert appreciation of their individual characteristics. In the dedicatory letter to my book on Zermatt I wrote, 'I can still hear the enthusiasm in your voice as you spoke of Adolf Aufdenblatten of Zermatt, described by George Finch as" one of the neatest, fastest and most powerful stepcutters whom it has ever been my good fortune to see at work".' I, who was honoured by his friendship, understand the genuine note not only of profound respect but also of deep affection in the various obituary notices which I have read.
Franz, who died on Christmas Eve, 1966, was born on May 1,1897, and began his formal education at the well known Jesuit school in Feldkirch, the influence of which, so Dr. Werner Kämpfen remarked in his very moving Trauerrede, persisted throughout his life. It was his practice to renew the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises every Easter.
He took his doctorate of Law at the University of Berne, and seemed at first attracted by politics. The Swiss President, Herr Motta, must have been impressed by the talents of this young man, for he sent him on a diplomatic mission to Czechoslovakia, but those who were concerned with the difficulties of the Swiss hotel industry after the First World War persuaded him to accept the leadership of a newly-formed hotel organisation in Zürich. Later he was for twenty years the President of the Swiss Hotel Association and one of the founders and later President of the International Hotel Association. My friend Kaspar von Allmen, who is not prodigal in the bestowal of alphas, told me that one of the best speeches he had ever heard was by Dr. Franz Seiler at a meeting of the Swiss Hotel Association.
Franz Seiler was described in a brilliant but anonymous tribute in the Swiss Hotel Revue as 'un grand humaniste ... Il etait non seulement juriste, mais encore philosophe et theologue '. He was, as I soon realised, deeply concerned with the application of Christian principles to the problems of the modern world. He had a passion for music. He was himself a fine performer on the violin, and the creator of the famous Music Weeks at Zermatt, invitations to which were accepted by such famous musicians as Pablo Casals and Rubinstein.
Men as versatile as Franz Seiler and as gifted are uncommon, and one can well understand what his all too early death must mean to the Swiss hotels in general, and to the valley, which he loved and served so nobly in particular.
Arnold Lunn.
*) Members of the A. C. who were in Zermatt in 1957 will recall the hospitable interest shown by Dr. Seiler in our Centenary celebrations, as also when he attended and spoke at our Dinner that winter. Many of us, too, will remember his distinguished tri-lingual speech at the opening ceremony of the Matterhorn celebrations in 1965.
It may be added that although, as Lunn's tribute shows, Dr. Seiler would have been welcomed as a member of the A.C. on any terms, he in fact chose to be elected on his climbing qualifications, which included all the principal great peaks round the St. Niklaus valley, many of them several times.
T.S.B.
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 72, 1967, Seite 191-192


Geboren am:
01.05.1897
Gestorben am:
25.12.1966