“If that happens then I can call myself ‘von’”. I’ve heard many people make such exclamations. That means that you’d be somebody, somebody important or as they say in Swiss German you’d be “more better”. To be sure, the Bernese Madame de Meuron never needed to utter those words.
In 1980 an era ended as the last remnant of aristocratic “Old Berne” was put to rest. Madame de Meuron had lived to be almost 98. She was a living legend and locally famous for her eccentric lifestyle and somewhat patronizing comments.
Madame de Meuron, née Elisabeth von Tscharner
Elisabeth was the daughter of Anna (nèe von Wattenwyl) and Ludwig von Tscharner. She was born in 1882 into an aristocratic family of landowners and influence.
As was probably the status quo at the time, the family neither allowed Elisabeth to attend high school nor university. Her family also opposed her relationship with a man from Zurich and thusly she was not allowed to marry him. In 1905 she married her cousin, Frédéric-Alphonse (Fritz) de Meuron. They had two children, a daughter in 1907 and a son in 1909. Unfortunately the marriage wasn’t particularly happy and didn’t last. They divorced in 1923.
After the death of her parents and brother she was left as the only heir to large property assets. That included two castles, a villa in Berne and 5 apartment buildings in the old part of Berne. As if that wasn’t enough her family also owned an alp.
“De” in French has the same meaning as “von” in German. Until the Middle Ages both denoted a noble or aristocratic family. So, as far as being able to call herself “von”, this woman had a triple whammy of vons. Her mother, father and husband were of aristocratic blood. She was born to be somebody. In fact, she was quite often referred to simply as Madame de.
Lifestyle
From her son’s suicide in 1939 until her death in 1980 she was in mourning. Her outdated black dresses were very distinct. Quite often Madame de Meuron was seen while attending to the tenants who lived in her Berne apartment houses. She wore large straw hats and used an ear trumpet to help her hear. Her Russian greyhounds often accompanied her. Her unique looks led to instant recognition and became her visual trademarks.
She also did odd things. Once she caught a vagabond stealing fruit on her castle grounds. She locked the woman up in the coach house for two days. Madame de Meuron was charged with false imprisonment. In her defense she produced a Medieval document that authorized the owner of Rümligen Castle to administer low justice. She was dismissed with a small fee and a lecture on current law.
Patronizing Comments
The absence of “r” in her Swiss German pronunciation lent a touch of a French accent. Being able to speak French always adds to the air of nobility. With a name like de Meuron one speaks French and of course she could.
Her upbringing and aristocratic blood gave her permission to say and do things commoners would not. Here are her most notable comments.
When meeting someone for the first time, she said
“Syt der öpper oder nämet der Lohn?“
[Are you someone (important), or do you work for a living?]
She said the following to a farmer who sat in her family pew in the church Thurnen. That would be family Frishing on her mother’s side, another patrician family.
“Im Himmel obe sy mer mynetwäge alli glych, aber hie unde wei mer einschtwyle no Ornig ha!“
[In heaven we all are equal, so to speak, but here on earth there are rules to be followed!]
I imagine the man immediately got up and offered his seat to Madame de Meuron.
It seemed that she never bought tram tickets, her reasoning was:
“I bi vor em Tram da gsi!“
[I was here before the tram!]
Which was true, the first trams lines in Berne were opened on October 1, 1890.
She was also stubborn as far as other transportation goes. She allowed her chauffeur to park her car anywhere. When a policeman confronted her she simply said:
“Me laht das da!”
[That is to be left there!]
As to why she had an ear trumpet she responded:
“So ghör i nume was i wott!”
[That way I can only hear what I want!]
The End of an Era
It’s hard to say if her eccentricity was a show or if it was a shell. Of course the woman was made up of more than a couple of sayings, the clothes she wore and the property she owned. Reading between the lines gives you a glimpse of the tragic story behind the woman.
She was brought up to be a part of the upper-class. Probably because she was a woman her education was very limited although she had many interests. She was denied to wed the person of her choice. She was divorced which was not sociably acceptable. Her son committed suicide and her daughter emigrated to Morocco. All this and I’m sure much more formed her into the person she was and presented to the world.
She was a modern relic of days gone by. I mean, I had never heard of anyone actually using an ear horn before.
She died and an era of aristocratic “Old Berne” died with her in May, 1980. Her name came up now and then in conversations but I never associated it with a real person. What I didn’t realize was I had literally just missed her, I came to Switzerland September the same year she died. That was when Ben and I rang in a new era with our marriage. Maybe we don’t own an alp or two castles but we have more than that. We were able to marry the person we love and are not under public scrutiny.
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