“Grüaß Gott i der Schtuba” is how Elisabeth Burtscher welcomes her guests in her local dialect. Satisfied, she sits on the patio of her cosy house high above the town of Fontanella, afforded a wide view of the Großes Walsertal, surrounded by her family. She currently has visitors from Australia. “I consider myself a ‘ Walser’ native,” says the lively old lady, a retired headmistress, “like so many others here, irrespective of how much Walser blood flows in your veins.”

Around 700 years ago, people moved here from Canton Valais in Switzerland, usually for economic reasons, on the search for new agricultural land, and became ‘Walsers’. Their main distinguishing characteristic is still their language which, as Elisabeth Burtscher says, “is so far removed from High German that you cannot mix the two.” The Walser dialect and other traditions are lovingly maintained in the region.