Kyrkbacken, the church hill, is a district of older wooden houses in a maze of winding streets next to Rudbeckianska High School and the cathedral. Until the 17th century, the hilly area north of the cathedral was called "Backerne" and formed the northern outer boundary of the city. The area was divided into a more middle-class part in the south and a slum area in the north. The south was inhabited by church people, teachers and priests, while the north was populated by the poor, the despised and the lowly. Although the rest of Västerås was urbanistically laid out in a regular, modern street network in the 19th century, no effort was made to change Kyrkbacken. The area therefore lives on with a charming jumble of alleys and characterful wooden houses that give us a glimpse of life here several centuries ago.