| | Bern eastern old town Switzerland (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-14) |
 | | To the left (southwest), Gerberngasse follows the bend of the river down into one of the most appealing districts of the Old Town, Matte. |
 | | For many centuries this was a self-contained district of craftspeople and dockworkers which long retained its own dialect, related to the Jenisch language of the Swiss gypsies (see here) and dubbed Mattenenglisch by the other Bernese, to whom it was an incomprehensible language (as obscure as Englisch) spoken in a meadow (Matte). |
 | | Gentrification of the neighbourhood in the 1970s brought sweeping social changes. |
| switzerland.isyours.com /E/guide/bern/easternoldtown.html (1204 words) |