Ida Ospelt-Amann (15 February 1899 – 12 March 1996) was a Liechtensteiner poet who wrote in the Alemannic dialect that is spoken in the

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

region. She is considered the most important of her country's dialect poets. Her works deal primarily with rural life, as well as with her home town of Vaduz, and its change over time.

Biography

Ida Amann was born in February 1899 to Franz Amann and his wife Elisabeth (née Burtscher). From 1905 to 1911 she attended elementary school and from 1911 to 1913 secondary school. After finishing school she went abroad, where she worked in the resorts of Arosa , Portorož and

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

. Ospelt-Amann wrote her entire corpus of poetry in the Vaduz dialect. Over the years, she gained a certain amount of public notoriety.Monz, Martin Michael
"Sprache und Kultur eines Zwergstaaten: Fürstentum Liechtenstein."
(Thesis, 2017). From 1960 to 1970 she was President of the Vaduz Women's Association. In 1965 she published her first volume of poetry'', S'Loob-Bett'', which was illustrated by Eugen Verling. This was followed in 1975 by a second book, ''S'ischt Suusersunntig''. She also held readings and appeared on the radio. In 1984, to celebrate her 85th birthday, the book ''Di aaltaräder'' was published. In 1991 she issued a cassette tape, featuring texts and poems recorded in the Vaduz dialect. One example of her work is the poem, ''D Alpfaart'', described successful mountaineering. Much of the tone of her writing is nostalgic. In addition to her poetry Ospelt-Amann also collected proverbs and sayings from her dialect for the Liechtenstein National Museum. Ospelt-Amann died on 12 March 1996. She had a total of six children, two sons and four daughters, including the politicians

Hilmar Ospelt Hilmar Ospelt (6 May 1929 – 22 February 2020) was a political figure from Liechtenstein who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1980 to 1986. Early life and career Ospelt was born on 6 May 1929 in Vaduz to the son of H ...

( de) and Werner Ospelt. Her grandsons include the artist Mathias Ospelt, and the poet Markus Meier.

Recognition

For her services to preserving the Vaduz dialect, she received the

Golden Cross of Merit The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was aw ...

and honorary citizenship from Vaduz.

Legacy

According to the

Liechtenstein State Library The Liechtensteinische Landesbibliothek (in English: ''Liechtenstein State Library'') is the legal deposit and copyright library for Liechtenstein. Legal basis and tasks The Liechtenstein State Library, locally known as the State Library, was est ...

, Ospelt-Amann was a pioneer for the revival of dialect poetry in Liechtenstein. She was an Honorary Member of the Liechtenstein Dialect Foundation.

Publications

* 1965 ''S’Loob-Bett'' * 1975 ''S’ischt Suusersunntig'' * 1984 ''Di aalta Räder'' * (edited collection) Dittmar, Jens, ed. ''Lyrik aus Liechtenstein: von Heinrich von Frauenberg bis heute''. Liechtenstein, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ospelt-Amann, Ida 1899 births 1996 deaths Liechtenstein writers Liechtenstein women writers Women poets Alemannic German language People from Vaduz