The Early Years
Adrienne von Speyr (1902-1967) was the second of four children born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, to Theodor von Speyr and his wife Laure, née Girard, who had married just a few years before Adrienne’s birth. Theodor, an opthamologist, came from an old Basle family that was already known before the Reformation for their work as bell-makers, sacred artists, and printers; even today, some of the famous “Cloches de Bâle” (Clocks of Basle) still bear the name of the Von Speyr workshop. Later, the family produced doctors, pastors, and successful businessmen. Adrienne’s mother, for her part, came from a family of watchmakers and jewelers who had flourished in Geneva and Neuchâtel. Place matters: Adrienne would always retain a vivid memory of the austere beauty of her native Canton, the Jura, and would often revisit it in thought during the last years of her life.
Biography of Adrienne von Speyr - Balthasar & Speyr
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Biography of Adrienne von Speyr - Balthasar & Speyr