Mattequartier

The Matte district ( mat, Mättu dialect ) is a part of the old town of Bern.

The entire old town of Bern is located on a peninsula in the Aare, but during the actual city center is located on a hill, the Matte district is located directly at the waterfront and is clearly separated from the rest of the city. Here developed among male teenagers Matt English, a boy or secret language, which has been passed down from father to son.

The mat is first officially documented around 1327. Identifies so was the area around the Untertorbrücke, where for a long time far and wide was the only Aareübergang. The mat was the dock for sailors and rafters. Here worked Fischer and carters, and the water power was used by commercial and light industry. The water also attracted tanneries. The mat belonged to the butchers area, one of the four Venner - quarters of the city of Bern. Ecclesiastical belonged to the mat to the parish of Bern. As this 1721 was divided into three parts, the mat came to the newly established parish Nydegg. Its parish church is the Nydeggkirche. 1448 lived in the mat around 600 people, which at that time accounted for about 10 % of the city population. In the 16th century, several Anabaptists were drowned in the river Aare. For a long time the Matte district for its bathhouses was known in which part brothels were operated. 1760 here amused himself Giacomo Casanova, and in the summer of 1824 shook the ostentatious immorality the Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. With the introduction of the five colored neighborhoods 1798, the mat was the color black.

1891 was built here the first Bernese power station since 1897 and combines an electric lift, the so-called Senkeltram the mat with the cathedral platform. On foot you can reach the back of the Bern Cathedral of the mat on the 183 wooden steps of dating from the 14th century, Matt Stairs. From an industrial and working-class district, the mat was in the second half of the 20th century residence of artists and students ( gentrification ). Expensive renovations of old houses sold the business and now here are many advertising agencies located. The Matt English is rarely spoken today. Only a few terms have been preserved in the vernacular.

During the floods in the Alps in 2005 flowed through the bed of the river Aare four times the normal amount of water. Thus, the Matte district was partially set several meters under water. On 24 August 2005, the district had to be evicted eventually. Only after a few days, the residents were able to return to their homes.

Today about 1,400 people live in the area.

Pictures

Overlooking the old town and mat.

Look into the mat from the Nydeggbrücke.

Schifflaube and Tych.

Mat stream on Mill Square.

Advertising column in the Bernese Matte district. Once used as a telephone booth today for installations of all kinds

The two school buildings in the Bernese mat district (left).