Bonadurer Russia.

Dr. med. Alexander Bonadurer was born in Kyiv in 1883 and came from a Versam branch of this family, which was formerly quite widespread in the area. He is the son of Johannes Bonadurer from Unterhof in Versam (born 1846), who emigrated to Russia.

Johannes first lived in St. Petersburg with his uncle Domenik Ritz à Porta — who in 1869 donated the beautiful black marble baptismal font to the church in Versam. Later, Johannes moved to Kyiv, married there in 1874, and, after initial involvement in the gasworks, founded an installation business. His wife Amalie Schädel was of Baltic descent on her mother's side.

Family in Kyiv

"We were 5 siblings," Dr. Alexander Bonadurer recounted. "One brother died as a small child, another at the age of about 18 in 1897 from tuberculosis. I was barely five years old when my father died after a long, severe illness. My older brother Peter Adolf (born 1875) then took over our father's business, which our mother had handed over to him to dedicate herself to her beloved activity — building new houses."

Our mother was a very capable woman: she rose from humble beginnings, earned very well from building houses, and was able to let Alexander, her youngest, study. He trained as a doctor in Kyiv and later ran his own hospital. In 1904, he married Katharina Warenetzky, an educated, distinguished Russian woman. A year later, their only daughter Marie was born.

The Russian Revolution — Flight and Loss

The storms of the revolution hit Alexander Bonadurer hard: he lost his entire, certainly considerable, fortune and his own hospital overnight. Communists threatened him with a revolver in the looted hospital — they probably would have shot him if he had not managed to save the life of one of their comrades.

He was taken to a military hospital, from which he eventually escaped with great cunning. Fleeing with his wife and daughter, he reached a city in Southern Russia, where he found refuge with shady people until they managed to get to Europe by ship.

"Poor as a church mouse," they returned to their home community of Versam in 1920. I still remember how this escape was the talk of the town in Versam and the surrounding area.

Return to Versam · 1920

The home community and relatives took care of the family as best they could. They found accommodation in the large house on the Tobel in Versam (today Haus Hänny). "Everyone was always very kind to me. They spoke perfect German, but with a foreign accent. Everything in their apartment was very, very simply furnished. The samovar was bubbling on the table! They certainly lacked many things. But not a word of complaint was ever heard."

Dr. Bonadurer found a modest income as an assistant to the health insurance doctor Signina. He did not let himself be defeated. In 1926 — at an advanced age — he still found the courage to study medicine at the University of Basel and obtain the Swiss federal medical diploma.

"After various wanderings, I came to Trun in 1929 as a health insurance doctor. Strangely enough, I was able to assert myself here, even though I had become neither Catholic nor Romansh... To my greatest dismay, I was honored with honorary citizenship of the municipality of Trun."

R. Stampa wrote in his obituary in the Neue Bündner Zeitung: "He immediately caught my attention because he wore a kind of blouse, as was customary in Russia. His head shape also revealed Slavic features. But as soon as he began to speak, his whole face brightened. His great kindness was hidden behind a subtle ironic trait — the irony of a man who had emerged victorious from a difficult struggle."

Dr. Alexander Bonadurer died in Basel in 1960, where he had retired in his old age, while his daughter Marie worked there as a doctor.

The Song of the Cat · approx. 1934

Satirical poem by Alexander Bonadurer — one of many poems he wrote on his typewriter. The originals are with Roland Bonadurer.

Letter (Feb. 2007) · Envelope Poetry Collection · Typescripts

To date, only one single reference is known. According to Roland's knowledge, it must be Dr. Alexander Bonadurer's sister.

Matriculation of the University of Zurich · 1898

Note: The question of whether the medical student Marie Bonadurer (born 1905, matriculation no. 30890) is a daughter of Anna Bonadurer — and not of Dr. Alexander Bonadurer — has not yet been conclusively clarified.

Peter Michael (teacher, 7104 Versam-Arezen), who wrote about Bonadurer women in the former local newspaper Töndala in February/March 1987, did not mention Anna.

Alexander Bonadurer's entry in the standard work "Graubünden in the Russian Empire" by Roman Bühler, page 349. The four book pages are shown below as scans.

Roman Bühler · "Graubünden in the Russian Empire" · Page 349