Michel Lentz

Michel Lentz
Michel Lentz in 1893
Born(1820-05-21)21 May 1820
Luxembourg City
Died(1893-09-07)7 September 1893
Luxembourg City
Occupation
  • poet
  • writer
EducationAthénée de Luxembourg
Genres
  • hymn
Notable worksOns Heemecht
Literature portal

Michel Lentz (21 May 1820 – 7 September 1893) was a Luxembourgish poet. He is best known for having written Ons Heemecht, the national anthem of Luxembourg.[1] He was a civil servant by profession.

Life

Michel Lentz, the son of master baker Jean-Pierre Lentz and his wife Marguerite Spresser,[3] was born in Dräikinneksgaass  on 21 May 1820. Around 1820, his father bought the house on the corner of Chimaysstrooss and Ënneschtgaass . Shortly afterwards, he bought a small house on Ünneschtgaass to run his bakery.

After primary school, Lentz went to the Athénée de Luxembourg, where he received his first diploma in 1840. After a year of studying philology at the Free University of Brussels, he was appointed to the government secretariat at the end of 1842. On 10 September 1851, when Lentz was already a first-class clerk, he married Jeanne Reuter, the daughter of a retired schoolteacher. They had three children.[4]

As a writer, Lentz published satirical and patriotic poems and songs, among other things. Luxembourg's national motto, "Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn", is derived from De Feierwon, which he wrote in 1859 on the occasion of the inauguration of the city's railway, on 4 October.[5] Lentz also wrote the lyrics for Ons Heemecht (1864), which became the official anthem of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1993.[6] Many of his poems were published in the anthologies Spâss an Iérscht (1873)[7] and Hierschtblummen (1887), in the newspaper Das Luxemburger Land.

By 1857, Michel Lentz was deputy head of the office, and from 1869 onwards, he was head of the office and advisor in the Court of Auditors of Luxembourg, a position he held until his retirement in 1892.

Lentz died at the age of 73 on 7 September 1893. He was given a state funeral at the Notre-Dame Cemetery,[8] at which Prime Minister Paul Eyschen delivered a eulogy.

Work

Lentz wrote his first poem at the age of 17.[9] The first collection of his poems was published in 1873, under the title Spâss an Erscht. Fourteen years later, Hirschblummen was published. A third volume, named Wantergreng, was never printed. Many of his poems were set to music, partly by himself but also by other composers, including Jean Antoine Zinnen, Laurent Menager, J. A. Müller, Gustave Kahnt, and Albert Thorn.[10]

Tributes

After the death of writer and poet Edmond de la Fontaine, friends raised money to erect a monument to him. Shortly afterwards, a committee was formed in order to do the same for Lentz.

Since 1903, the Dicks-Lentz Monument stands in the Jan Palach Square section of the Place d'Armes in Luxembourg City.[11] Lentz has also been depicted on Luxembourg postage stamps,[12] euro coins,[13][14] a bronze portrait relief,[15] and a silver medal;[16] a road in Luxembourg now bears his name as well.[17]

Poems (selection)

  • Miniminimo[18]
  • Zéng Froen[19]
  • Merenchen
  • Wé méng Mamm nach hûet gesponnen[20]
  • De Be'fchen a sei Peiâss
  • De Fresch an den Ochs
  • Ons Heemecht
  • Fidelitas
  • Schuobermess[21]
  • An Amérika[22]
  • Mir si glëcklech
  • D'Margréitchen [23]
  • Den Text vum Hämmelsmarsch 
  • Hemwe'
  • De Feierwon 
  • Wât d'Hémécht as[24]
  • Beim Weier[25]
  • E schlèchte Witz[26]
  • Den Zeîtsgenoch[27]
  • Op der Léder[28]
  • Wîen ass dât Kand?[29]
  • Zwó Kaatzen[30]
  • Dicks-Lentz Monument in Luxembourg City
  • Monument Lentz in Hesper Park, Hesperange
  • Plaque in Luxembourg City

Bibliography

  • Paul Dostert, 2003. Michel Lentz 1820–1893. In: 400 Joer Kolléisch, Volume II: 277–278. Saint Paul Editions, Luxembourg. ISBN 2-87963-419-9. (in Luxembourgish)
  • Maugendre, Xavier (1996). L'Europe des hymnes dans leur contexte historique et musical [Europe's anthems in their historical and musical context] (in French). Sprimont, [Belgique]: Mardaga. pp. 66–68. ISBN 978-2-87009-632-1.

See also

References

  1. ^ Bellamy, John (30 May 2025). "Tracing orthographic debates through history: sociolinguistic perspectives on nineteenth-century spelling proposals for Galician and Luxembourgish". Sociolinguistica. 39 (1): 79–101. doi:10.1515/soci-2024-0025. ISSN 1865-939X.
  2. ^ The plaque has since been replaced by a new marble plaque in the same format, but with the text in the current Luxembourgish script. In addition, in 1993, the Action Luxembourgish, together with the CGFP, hung a second plaque with a bronze medallion on the building.
  3. ^ "Naissances 1815–1827". FamilySearch.
  4. ^ "Knowledge Bites: Michel Lentz – Luxembourg's 'national poet'". RTL Today. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  5. ^ Christophory, Jul (2005). Précis d'histoire de la littérature en langue luxembourgeoise [A Concise History of Literature in the Luxembourgish Language] (in French). Luxembourg: Editions Paul Bauler. p. 29. ISBN 978-2-919885-54-1.
  6. ^ Schmit, Jean-Philippe (23 March 2024). "Wie die "Heemecht" nach 129 Jahren zur Nationalhymne wurde" [How the "Heemecht" became the national anthem after 129 years]. Luxemburger Wort (in Luxembourgish). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  7. ^ "Interkulturelle Literaturrezeption: Michel Lentzʼ Korrespondenz mit dem niederländischen Professor A. S. Kok" [Intercultural literary reception: Michel Lentzʼ correspondence with the Dutch professor A. S. Kok]. cnl.public.lu (in Luba-Katanga). 1 December 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Michel Lentz | Ville de Luxembourg". vdl.lu. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  9. ^ Welter, N. Das Luxemburgische und sein Schrifttum, 1914. (in Luxembourgish)
  10. ^ "Michel Lentz". Dictionnaire des auteurs luxembourgeois (in French). 21 May 1820. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  11. ^ "From the Mutton March to the Grand Duke's Love of the Contemporary: Luxembourg City's Art Scene". worldcapitalconfidential.com. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Stamps (Year: 1947, Page: 2)". Colnect. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  13. ^ "5 Euros, Luxembourg". en.numista.com. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  14. ^ "20 Euros, Luxembourg". en.numista.com. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Luxembourg – Michel Lentz". vanderkrogt.net. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Médaille argent Michel Lentz, poète luxembourgeois, 26g, en boîte BCEE" [Michel Lentz silver medal, Luxembourg poet, 26g, in BCEE box]. encheres-luxembourg.lu (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Rue Michel Lentz". Mapy.com. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Miniminimo". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  19. ^ "Zéng Froen". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  20. ^ "Wé méng Mamm nach hûet gesponnen". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Schuobermess". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  22. ^ "An Amérika". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  23. ^ "D'Margréitchen". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Wât d'Hémécht as". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Beim Weier". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  26. ^ "E schlèchte Witz". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  27. ^ "Den Zeîtsgenoch". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  28. ^ "Op der Léder". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  29. ^ "Wîen ass dât Kand?". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  30. ^ "Zwó Kaatzen". viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michel Lentz.
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.