Basel
Encyclopedia
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), Basilea baziˈlɛːa (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) and Basilea baziˈlɛːa (Romansh) is Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. With 830,000 inhabitants in the tri-national urban agglomeration as of 2004, Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area.
Located in northwest Switzerland on the river Rhine, Basel functions as a major industrial centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The Basel region, culturally extending into German Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
and French Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, reflects the heritage of its three state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
s in the modern Latin
New Latin
The term New Latin, or Neo-Latin, is used to describe the Latin language used in original works created between c. 1500 and c. 1900. Among other uses, Latin during this period was employed in scholarly and scientific publications...
name: "Regio TriRhena". It has the oldest university
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
of the Swiss Confederation (1460). Basel is German-speaking
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. The local variant of the Swiss German
Swiss German
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
dialects is called Basel German
Basel German
Basel German or Baseldytsch is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. Among the Swiss German dialects, it is the only Low Alemannic one.- Aspirated plosives :...
.
Basel is among the most important cultural centres of Switzerland. The city comprises a large number of theatres and many museums
Museums in Basel
The Basel museums encompass a series of museums in the city of Basel, Switzerland, and the neighboring region. They represent a broad spectrum of collections with a marked concentration in the fine arts and house numerous holdings of international significance...
, including the Museum of Fine Arts
Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, which made it the first municipally owned museum...
, the world's oldest art collection accessible to the public. In addition the Theater Basel
Theater Basel
Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas....
was chosen in 1999 as the best stage for German-language performances and in 2009 & 2010 as "Opera of the Year" by German Opera Magazine "Opernwelt".
Early history
During the days of the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the settlement of Augusta Raurica
Augusta Raurica
Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland. Located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst, it is the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine....
was founded 10 or 20 kilometres upstream of present Basel, and a castle was built on the hill overlooking the river where the Basel Münster now stands. But even older Celtic settlements (including a vitrified fort
Vitrified fort
Vitrified fort is the name given to certain crude stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected in a greater or lesser degree to the action of fire. They are generally situated on hills offering strong defensive positions. Their form seems to have been determined by the contour of the flat...
) have been discovered recently in the area predating the Roman castle. The city's position on the Rhine long emphasised its importance: Basel for many centuries possessed the only bridge over the river "between Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
and the sea".
The town of Basel was called Basilea or Basilia in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
Basileia, Βασιλεια meaning kingship) and this name is documented from 374 AD.
Since the donation of the Abbey Moutier-Grandvalto and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II in 999 till the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, Basel was ruled by prince-bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
s (see Bishop of Basel, whose memory is preserved in the crosier
Crosier
A crosier is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran and Pentecostal prelates...
shown on the Basel coat-of-arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
– see above).
Prince-Bishopric of Basel
In 1019 the construction of the cathedral of Basel (known locally as the Münster) began under German Emperor Heinrich IIHenry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
.
In 1225–1226 the Bridge over the Rhine was constructed by Bishop Heinrich von Thun and lesser Basel (Kleinbasel) founded as a beachhead to protect the bridge. The bridge was largely funded by Basel's Jewish community which had settled there a century earlier.
The Bishop also allowed the furriers to found a guild in 1226. Eventually about 15 guilds were established in the 13th century. They increased the town's, and hence the bishop's, reputation, influence, and income from the taxes and duties on goods in Basel's expanding market.
In 1347 the plague came to Europe but did not reach Basel until June 1349. The guilds, asserting that the Jews were responsible—several had been tortured and confessed—demanded they be executed, which the Council did in January 1349, except for a few who escaped to Alsace. The council then forbade Jews in Basel for 200 years, except that their money was helpful in rebuilding after the Basel earthquake
1356 Basel earthquake
The Basel earthquake of 18 October 1356 is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history and may have had a Mw magnitude as strong as 7.1....
of 1356 which destroyed much of the city along with a number of castles
Rötteln Castle
Rötteln Castle , located above the Lörrach suburb of Haagen, lies in the extreme southwest corner of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The fortification was one of the most powerful in the southwest, and today is the third largest castle ruin in Baden....
in the vicinity. The city offered courts to nobles as an alternative to rebuilding their castles, in exchange for the nobles' military protection of the city.
In 1412 (or earlier) the well-known guesthouse Zum Goldenen Sternen was established.
Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th century Council of Basel
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV, to convene in 1438...
(1431–1449), including the 1439 election of antipope
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
Felix V
Antipope Felix V
-External links:*...
.
In 1459 Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
endowed the University of Basel
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
where such notables as Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
of Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and Paracelsus
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
later taught. At the same time the new craft of printing
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
was introduced to Basel by apprentices of Johann Gutenberg.
The Schwabe publishing house was founded in 1488 by Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business. Johann Froben
Johann Froben
Johann Froben, in Latin: Johannes Frobenius , was a famous printer and publisher in Basel...
also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by Erasmus. In 1495, Basel was incorporated in the Upper Rhenish Imperial Circle
Imperial Circle
An Imperial Circle comprised a regional grouping of territories of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily for the purpose of organizing a common defensive structure and of collecting the imperial taxes, but also as a means of organization within the Imperial Diet and the Imperial Chamber Court.Each...
; the Bishop of Basel was added to the Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes. In 1500 the construction of the Basel Münster
Basel Münster
The Basel Münster is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof...
was finished. In 1521 so was the bishop. The Council, under the supremacy of the guilds, explained that henceforth they would only give allegiance to the Swiss Confederation, to whom the bishop appealed but in vain.
As a member state in the Swiss Confederacy
The city had remained neutral through the Swabian War of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The Treaty of Basel ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland de facto from the Holy Roman Empire.On 9 June 1501 Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its eleventh canton. It was the only canton that had been asked to join, not the other way round. Basel, had a strategic location, good relations with Strasbourg and Mulhouse, and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. For its part, Basel secured the military help of the other cantons when threatened, and some protection for its rural subjects outside its walls. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among the other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation.
In 1503 the new bishop Christoph von Utenheim
Christoph von Utenheim
Christoph von Utenheim was Bishop of Basel from 1502 until his resignation from that office in 1527.Christoph von Utenheim was born about the year 1450. He studied theology and canon law at Basel and Erfurt. In either 1473 or 1474 he became the rector of Basel University. He earned his doctorate...
refused to give Basel a new constitution whereupon, to show its power, the city began the construction of a new city hall.
In 1529 the city became Protestant under Oecolampadius
Johannes Oecolampadius
Johannes Œcolampadius was a German religious reformer. His real name was Hussgen or Heussgen .-Life:He was born in Weinsberg, then part of the Electoral Palatinate...
and the bishop's seat was moved to Porrentury. The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms.
The first edition of Christianae religionis institutio (Institutes of the Christian Religion
Institutes of the Christian Religion
The Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin's seminal work on Protestant systematic theology...
– John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
's great exposition of Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536.
In 1544, Johann von Brugge a rich Dutch Protestant refugee was given citizenship and lived respectfully until his death in 1556 then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist David Joris
David Joris
David Joris was an important Anabaptist leader in the Netherlands before 1540.-Life:Joris was probably born in Flanders, the son of Marytje and Georgius Joris de Koman, an amateur actor and shopkeeper...
.
In 1543 De humani corporis fabrica
De humani corporis fabrica
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem is a textbook of human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius in 1543....
, the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564).
There are indications Joachim Meyer
Joachim Meyer
Joachim Meyer was a self described Freifechter living in the then Free Imperial City of Strassburg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch Gründtliche Beschreibung der kunst des Fechten first published in 1570.Meyer's book was reprinted in 1600, and may have been an...
, author of the influential 16th century martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
text Kunst des Fechten ("The Art of Fencing") came from Basel. In 1662 the Amerbaschsches Kabinett was established in Basel as the first public museum of art. Its collection became the core of the later Basel Museum of Art.
Modern history
In 1792 the Republic of RauraciaRauracian Republic
The Rauracian Republic was a state that included parts of modern France and Switzerland around the Jura mountains. It was created from the northern portion of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire....
, a revolutionary French client republic
French client republic
During its occupation of neighboring parts of Europe during the French Revolutionary Wars, France established republican regimes in these territories...
, was created. It lasted until 1793. After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of Basel-Landschaft.
On July 3, 1874 Switzerland's first zoo (the Zoo Basel
Zoo Basel
Zoo Basel is a non-profit zoo located within the city of Basel, Switzerland. Its official name is Zoologischer Garten Basel — or in English: Basel Zoological Garden. Basel residents, however, call their zoo affectionately Zolli...
) opened its doors in the south of the city towards Binningen.
Basel as international meeting place
Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel (1499)Treaty of Basel (1499)
The Treaty of Basel of 22 September 1499 was an armistice following the Battle of Dornach, concluding the Swabian War, fought between the Swabian League and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The accession of Basel to the confederacy in 1501 is a direct consequence of the treaty....
ended the Swabian War
Swabian War
The Swabian War of 1499 was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg...
. Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The Peace of Basel
Peace of Basel
The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France .* The first of the three treaties of 1795, France made peace with Prussia on 5 April; , * The Second was with Spain on 22 July, ending the War of the Pyrenees; and*...
in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
against France during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
held its first congress in Basel on September 3, 1897. Because of the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, the Second International
Second International
The Second International , the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated...
held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912. In 1989, the Basel Convention
Basel Convention
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known simply as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of...
was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
from wealthy to developing nations
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
for disposal.
Geography
Basel has an area, , of 23.91 square kilometres (9.2 sq mi). Of this area, 0.95 km² (0.366797050662908 sq mi) or 4.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.88 km² (0.339769899561431 sq mi) or 3.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.67 km² (8 sq mi) or 86.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.45 km² (0.559848129959176 sq mi) or 6.1% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 10.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 40.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 24.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 8.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 2.5% is used for growing crops and 1.3% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is In Silber ein schwarzer Baselstab.
Climate
Basel has an average of 121.4 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 778 mm (30.6 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. The wettest month is June during which time Basel receives an average of 87 mm (3.4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 10.9 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.6, but with only 84 mm (3.3 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 49 mm (1.9 in) of precipitation over 9.4 days.
Transportation
Basel's airport is set up for airfreight; heavy goods reach the city and the heart of continental EuropeContinental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
from the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
by ship along the Rhine. The main European routes for the highway and railway transportation of freight cross in Basel. The outstanding location benefits logistics corporations, which operate globally from Basel. Trading firms are traditionally well represented in the Basel Region.
Port
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
.
Air transport
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-FreiburgEuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is an international airport northwest of Basel , southeast of Mulhouse , and south of Freiburg . It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders...
is operated jointly by two countries, France and Switzerland. Contrary to popular belief, the airport is located completely on French soil. The airport itself is split into two architecturally independent sectors, one half serving the French side and the other half serving the Swiss side; prior to Schengen
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
there was a customs point at the middle of the airport so that people could "emigrate" to the other side of the airport.
Railway
Basel has long held an important place as a rail hub. Three railway stations — those of the German, French and Swiss networks — lie within the city (although the Swiss (Basel SBBBasel SBB railway station
Basel SBB is the central railway station in the city of Basel in Switzerland. Trains run by the Swiss Federal Railways to destinations within Switzerland use this station, as well as Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express trains to Germany as well as Zürich and Interlaken...
) and French (Bâle SNCF
Basel SBB railway station
Basel SBB is the central railway station in the city of Basel in Switzerland. Trains run by the Swiss Federal Railways to destinations within Switzerland use this station, as well as Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express trains to Germany as well as Zürich and Interlaken...
) stations are actually in the same complex, separated by Customs and Immigration facilities). Basel Badischer Bahnhof
Basel Badischer Bahnhof
Basel Badischer Bahnhof is a railway station situated in the Swiss city of Basel. Whilst the station is situated on Swiss soil, the platforms and part of the entrance hall are extraterritorial, belonging to Germany, and the station is operated by the German railway company Deutsche Bahn...
is on the opposite side of the city. Basel's local rail services are supplied by the Basel Regional S-Bahn
Basel Regional S-Bahn
The Basel Regional S-Bahn has provided an S-Bahn-style rail service connecting the Basel metropolitan area since 1997 in Switzerland, Germany and France. It consists of five suburban train lines, including two that operate across borders. The S-Bahn is operated by the Swiss Federal Railways its...
. The largest goods railway complex of the country is located just outside the city, spanning the municipalities of Muttenz and Pratteln. The new highspeed ICE railway line from Karlsruhe to Basel was completed in 2008 while phase I of the TGV-Est
LGV Est
The LGV Est européenne is an extension to the French high-speed rail network, connecting currently Vaires-sur-Marne and Baudrecourt , and later Vaires-sur-Marne and Vendenheim . , it is the newest high-speed line in France and still under construction, with of a planned in service...
line, opened in June 2007, has reduced travel time from Basel to Paris to 3½ hours.
Roads
Basel is located on the A3 motorway.Within the city limits, five bridges connect greater and lesser Basel, from upstream to downstream:
- Schwarzwaldbrücke (built 1972)
- Wettsteinbrücke (current structure built 1998, original bridge built 1879)
- Mittlere Brücke (current structure built 1905, original bridge built 1225 as the first bridge to cross the Rhine River)
- Johanniterbrücke (built 1967)
- Dreirosenbrücke (built 2004, original bridge built 1935)
Ferries
A somewhat anachronistic yet still widely used system of ferry boats links the two shores. There are four ferries, each situated approximately midway between two bridges. Each is attached by a cable to a block that rides along another cable spanning the river at a height of 20 or 30 metres. To cross the river, the ferryman orients the boat around 45° from the current so that the current pushes the boat across the river. This form of transportation is therefore completely hydraulically driven, requiring no outside energy source.http://www.faehri.ch
Public transport
Basel has an extensive public transportation network serving the city and connecting to surrounding suburbs, including a large tram networkBasel Trams
The Basel tramway network is part of the public transport network serving Basel, Switzerland, and its two associated cantons.-Operations:Basel Trams are operated by two transport operators: Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe and Baselland Transport .BVB are owned by and operate in the Basel-Stadt, the small...
. The green-colored local trams
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
and buses are operated by the BVB (Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe). The yellow-colored buses and trams are operated by the BLT Baselland Transport
Baselland Transport
Baselland Transport is a public transport company in Basel, Switzerland. It operates the more suburban routes and its vehicles wear a yellow-and-red colour scheme...
, and connect areas in the nearby half-canton of Baselland to central Basel. The trams are powered by overhead lines
Overhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
, and the bus fleet consists of conventional fuel-powered vehicles. (Most buses are natural gas powered) The BVB also shares commuter bus lines in cooperation with transit authorities in the neighboring Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
region in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The Basel Regional S-Bahn
Basel Regional S-Bahn
The Basel Regional S-Bahn has provided an S-Bahn-style rail service connecting the Basel metropolitan area since 1997 in Switzerland, Germany and France. It consists of five suburban train lines, including two that operate across borders. The S-Bahn is operated by the Swiss Federal Railways its...
, the commuter rail network connecting to suburbs surrounding the city, is jointly operated by SBB
SBB
This article is about the Polish band. For the Michigan band, see Small Brown BikeSBB is a Polish progressive rock band formed in 1971 in Siemianowice, Upper Silesia by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Józef Skrzek...
, SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
and DB
DB
DB may refer to:In science and technology:*Decibel , a logarithmic unit of measurement in acoustics and electronics*Dubnium , a chemical element*DB connector, a size of D-subminiature electrical connector...
.
Border crossings
Basel is located at the meeting point of France, Germany and Switzerland and has numerous road and rail crossings between Switzerland and the other two countries. With Switzerland joining the Schengen AreaSchengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
on December 12, 2008, immigration checks were no longer carried out at the crossings. However, Switzerland did not join the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
customs regime and customs checks are still conducted at or near the crossings.
France-Switzerland (from east to west)
- Road crossings (with French road name continuation)
- Kohlenstrasse (Avenue de Bâle, Huningue). This crossing replaces the former crossing Hüningerstrasse further east.
- Elsässerstrasse (Avenue de Bâle, Saint-Louis)
- Autobahn A3 (A35 autorouteA35 autorouteThe A35 autoroute is a toll free highway in north eastern France. It is also known as the autoroute des cigognes and the Voie Rapide du Piémont des Vosges. It connects the German border in the Rhine valley with the Swiss frontier via Strasbourg...
, Saint-Louis) - EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-FreiburgEuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-FreiburgEuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is an international airport northwest of Basel , southeast of Mulhouse , and south of Freiburg . It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders...
– pedestrian walkway between the French and Swiss sections on Level 3 (departures) of airport. - Burgfelderstrasse (Rue du 1er Mars, Saint Louis)
- Railway crossing
- Basel SBB railway stationBasel SBB railway stationBasel SBB is the central railway station in the city of Basel in Switzerland. Trains run by the Swiss Federal Railways to destinations within Switzerland use this station, as well as Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express trains to Germany as well as Zürich and Interlaken...
- Basel SBB railway station
Germany-Switzerland (clockwise, from north to south)
- Road crossings (with German road name continuation)
- Hiltalingerstrasse (Zollstraße, Weil am RheinWeil am RheinWeil am Rhein is a German town and commune which is a suburb of the city of Basel in Switzerland. It is situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.-Geography:Weil am Rhein is...
). A tram line extension to Weil am Rhein is currently under construction along this road. Due to open December 2012. - Autobahn A2 (Autobahn A5Bundesautobahn 5is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...
, Weil am RheinWeil am RheinWeil am Rhein is a German town and commune which is a suburb of the city of Basel in Switzerland. It is situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.-Geography:Weil am Rhein is...
) - Freiburgerstrasse (Baslerstraße, Weil am RheinWeil am RheinWeil am Rhein is a German town and commune which is a suburb of the city of Basel in Switzerland. It is situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.-Geography:Weil am Rhein is...
) - Weilstrasse, RiehenRiehenRiehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
(Haupstraße, Weil am RheinWeil am RheinWeil am Rhein is a German town and commune which is a suburb of the city of Basel in Switzerland. It is situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.-Geography:Weil am Rhein is...
) - Lörracherstrasse, RiehenRiehenRiehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
(Baslerstraße, Stetten, LörrachLörrachLörrach is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss border. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. The biggest industry is the chocolate factory Milka...
) - Inzlingerstrasse, RiehenRiehenRiehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
(Riehenstraße, InzlingenInzlingenInzlingen is a village in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.From the Fondation Beyeler, a famous art collection in Riehen in the canton Basel Stadt, Switzerland, the street Inzlingerstrasse goes uphill to Inzlingen...
) - Grenzacherstrasse (Hörnle, Grenzach-WyhlenGrenzach-WyhlenGrenzach-Wyhlen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 7 km east of Basel, and 8 km south of Lörrach. It has borders to Inzlingen and Rheinfelden and Riehen , Birsfelden and Kaiseraugst in...
)
- Hiltalingerstrasse (Zollstraße, Weil am Rhein
- Railway crossing
- Between Basel SBB and Basel Badischer BahnhofBasel Badischer BahnhofBasel Badischer Bahnhof is a railway station situated in the Swiss city of Basel. Whilst the station is situated on Swiss soil, the platforms and part of the entrance hall are extraterritorial, belonging to Germany, and the station is operated by the German railway company Deutsche Bahn...
– Basel Badischer Bahnhof, and all other railway property and stations on the right bank of the Rhine belong to DBDeutsche BundesbahnThe Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
and are classed as German customs territory. Immigration and customs checks are conducted at the platform exit tunnel for passengers leaving trains here.
- Between Basel SBB and Basel Badischer Bahnhof
Additionally there are many footpaths and cycle tracks crossing the border between Basel and Germany.
Demographics
Basel has a population of . , 32.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -0.3%. It has changed at a rate of 3.2% due to migration and at a rate of -3% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(129,592 or 77.8%), with Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
being second most common (9,049 or 5.4%) and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
being third (4,280 or 2.6%). There are 202 people who speak Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 58,560 or about 35.2% were born in Basel and lived there in 2000. There were 1,396 or 0.8% who were born in the same canton, while 44,874 or 26.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 53,774 or 32.3% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 898 live births to Swiss citizens and 621 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 1,732 deaths of Swiss citizens and 175 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 834 while the foreign population increased by 446. There were 207 Swiss men and 271 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 1756 non-Swiss men and 1655 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 278 and the non-Swiss population increased by 1138 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.9%.
, there were 70,502 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 70,517 married individuals, 12,435 widows or widowers and 13,104 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.58 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 10.5% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 86,371 private households in the municipality, and an average of 1.8 persons per household. There were 44,469 households that consist of only one person and 2,842 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 88,646 households that answered this question, 50.2% were households made up of just one person and there were 451 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 20,472 married couples without children, 14,554 married couples with children There were 4,318 single parents with a child or children. There were 2,107 households that were made up of unrelated people and 2,275 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 5,747 single family homes (or 30.8% of the total) out of a total of 18,631 inhabited buildings. There were 7,642 multi-family buildings (41.0%), along with 4,093 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (22.0%) and 1,149 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.2%). Of the single family homes 1090 were built before 1919, while 65 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (3,474) were built between 1919 and 1945.
there were 96,640 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 35,958. There were 11,957 single room apartments and 9,702 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 84,675 apartments (87.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 7,916 apartments (8.2%) were seasonally occupied and 4,049 apartments (4.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.6 new units per 1000 residents.
the average price to rent an average apartment in Basel was 1118.60 Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s (CHF) per month (US$890, £500, €720 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 602.27 CHF (US$480, £270, €390), a two room apartment was about 846.52 CHF (US$680, £380, €540), a three room apartment was about 1054.14 CHF (US$840, £470, €670) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 2185.24 CHF (US$1750, £980, €1400). The average apartment price in Basel was 100.2% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.74%.
Economy
, Basel had an unemployment rate of 4.2%. , there were 18 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 34,645 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 1,176 businesses in this sector. 120,130 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 8,908 businesses in this sector. There were 82,449 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.2% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 130,988. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 13, of which 10 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 33,171 of which 24,848 or (74.9%) were in manufacturing, 10 were in mining and 7,313 (22.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 97,804. In the tertiary sector; 12,880 or 13.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 11,959 or 12.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 6,120 or 6.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4,186 or 4.3% were in the information industry, 10,752 or 11.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 13,695 or 14.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 6,983 or 7.1% were in education and 16,060 or 16.4% were in health care.
, there were 121,842 workers who commuted into the municipality and 19,263 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 6.3 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 23.9% of the workforce coming into Basel are coming from outside Switzerland, while 1.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 49.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 18.7% used a private car.
An annual Federal Swiss trade fair
Trade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
(Mustermesse) takes place in Kleinbasel on the right bank of the Rhine. Other important trade shows include "BaselWorld
BaselWorld
Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show is a trade show for the watch and jewellery industry organized annually in the city of Basel, Switzerland. The international show unites about 2,100 exhibitors from over 45 countries, including the leading watch and jewelry brands, as well as companies...
" (watches and jewelry
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
), Art Basel
Art Basel
Art Basel is an international contemporary art fair held each June in Basel, Switzerland. Similar to the Venice Biennale, it has been called "the Olympics of the art world". Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa...
, Orbit and Cultura.
The Swiss chemical industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
operates largely from Basel, and Basel also has a large pharmaceutical industry. Novartis
Novartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
, Syngenta
Syngenta
Syngenta AG is a large global Swiss agribusiness company which notably markets seeds and pesticides. Syngenta is involved in biotechnology and genomic research. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in total sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market. Sales in 2010 were...
, Ciba Specialty Chemicals
Ciba Specialty Chemicals
Ciba was a chemical company based in and near Basel, Switzerland. "Ciba" stood for "Chemische Industrie Basel" . It was formed as the non-pharmaceuticals elements of Novartis were spun out in 1997, following the merger in the previous year of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz that created Novartis.In 2008,...
, Clariant
Clariant
Clariant is a Swiss speciality chemical company which was formed in 1995 as a spin off from Sandoz.- Business :The company has a turnover of around US$8 billion and is headquartered in Muttenz, near Basel, Switzerland....
, Hoffmann-La Roche, Basilea Pharmaceutica
Basilea Pharmaceutica
Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical company that was formed as a spin-off entity from the drug giant Hoffmann–La Roche in October 2000. Basilea is engaged in the development of antibacterial and antifungal agents to combat drug resistance.The company is based in...
and Actelion
Actelion
Actelion was founded in December 1997 and is headquartered in Allschwil near Basel . Its CEO and co-founder is cardiologist Jean-Paul Clozel. Actelion scientists were among the first to work in the field of endothelian receptor antagonists...
are headquartered there. Pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals have become the modern focus of the city's industrial production.
Banking is extremely important to Basel:
- UBS AGUBS AGUBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland...
maintains central offices in Basel, giving finance a pivotal role in the local economy. - The Bank for International SettlementsBank for International SettlementsThe Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
is located within the city and is the central banker's bank. The bank is controlled by a board of directorsBoard of directorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, which is composed of the elite central bankers of 11 different countries (US, UK, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden).
- According to the BIS, "The choice of Switzerland for the seat of the BIS was a compromise by those countries that established the BIS: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. When consensus could not be reached on locating the Bank in London, Brussels or Amsterdam, the choice fell on Switzerland. An independent, neutral country, Switzerland offered the BIS less exposure to undue influence from any of the major powers. Within Switzerland, Basel was chosen largely because of its location, with excellent railway connections in all directions, especially important at a time when most international travel was by train."
- Created in May 1930, the BIS is owned by its member central bankCentral bankA central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
s, which are private entities. No agent of the Swiss public authorities may enter the premises without the express consent of the bank. The bank exercises supervision and police power over its premises. The bank enjoys immunity from criminal and administrative jurisdiction, as well as setting recommendations which become standard for the world's commercial bankCommercial bankAfter the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
ing system.- Basel is also the location of the Basel Committee on Banking SupervisionBasel Committee on Banking SupervisionThe Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is a committee of banking supervisory authorities that was established by the central bank governors of the Group of Ten countries in 1975. It provides a forum for regular cooperation on banking supervisory matters. Its objective is to enhance...
, which is distinct from the BIS. It usually meets at the BIS premises in Basel. Responsible for the Basel AccordBasel AccordThe Basel Accords refer to the banking supervision Accords —Basel I and Basel II issued and Basel III—by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ....
s (Basel IBasel IBasel I is the round of deliberations by central bankers from around the world, and in 1988, the Basel Committee in Basel, Switzerland, published a set of minimal capital requirements for banks. This is also known as the 1988 Basel Accord, and was enforced by law in the Group of Ten countries...
and Basel II), this organization fundamentally changed Risk ManagementRisk managementRisk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
within its industry.
- Basel is also the location of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
Basel has Switzerland's second tallest building (Basler Messeturm
Basler Messeturm
The Basler Messeturm , located in Basel at , was the Switzerland's tallest building until 2010, when a higher skyskraper was built in Zürich. It has 32 floors and is 105 m tall. It was completed in 2003....
/ 105m) and Switzerland's tallest tower (St. Chrischona TV tower
Swisscom-Sendeturm St. Chrischona
Swisscom-Sendeturm St. Chrischona is a communications tower built in 1980-1984 near Basel, Switzerland. It is located at near the St. Chrischona peak, on the territory of the municipality Bettingen, Basel-Stadt....
/ 250m).
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...
, the national airline of Switzerland, is headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is an international airport northwest of Basel , southeast of Mulhouse , and south of Freiburg . It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders...
in Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin
Saint-Louis is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The inhabitants are called Ludoviciens.-Geography:...
, Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin is a département of the Alsace region of France, named after the Rhine river. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departements of Alsace, although is still densely populated compared to the rest of France.-Subdivisions:The department...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, near Basel. Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair
Crossair
Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, near Basel, Switzerland...
was headquartered near Basel.
Quarters
Basel is subdivided into 19 quarters (Quartiere). The municipalities of RiehenRiehen
Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
and Bettingen
Bettingen
Bettingen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland.-Geography:Bettingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 34.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 44.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 18.8% is settled .Of the built up area, housing and buildings made...
, outside the city limits of Basel, are included in the canton of Basel-City as rural quarters (Landquartiere).
| Quartier | ha | Quartier | ha |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altstadt Grossbasel (central Grossbasel) | 37.63 | Altstadt Kleinbasel (central Kleinbasel) | 24.21 |
| Vorstädte (Suburbs) | 89.66 | Clara | 23.66 |
| Am Ring | 90.98 | Wettstein | 75.44 |
| Breite | 68.39 | Hirzbrunnen | 305.32 |
| St. Alban | 294.46 | Rosental | 64.33 |
| Gundeldingen | 123.19 | Mattäus | 59.14 |
| Bruderholz | 259.61 | Klybeck | 91.19 |
| Bachletten | 151.39 | Kleinhüningen | 136.11 |
| Gotthelf | 46.62 | City of Basel | 2275.05 |
| Iselin | 109.82 | Riehen Riehen Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton.... |
1086.10 |
| St. Johann | 223.90 | Bettingen Bettingen Bettingen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland.-Geography:Bettingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 34.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 44.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 18.8% is settled .Of the built up area, housing and buildings made... |
222.69 |
| Canton of Basel-City | 3583.84 |
Religion
From the , 41,916 or 25.2% were Roman Catholic, while 39,180 or 23.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 4,567 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 2.74% of the population), there were 459 individuals (or about 0.28% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 3,464 individuals (or about 2.08% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 1,325 individuals (or about 0.80% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 12,368 (or about 7.43% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 746 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 947 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and 485 individuals who belonged to another church. 52,321 (or about 31.41% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 8,780 individuals (or about 5.27% of the population) did not answer the question.
Main sights
The red sandstone MünsterBasel Münster
The Basel Münster is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof...
, one of the foremost late-Romanesque/early Gothic buildings in the Upper Rhine, was badly damaged in the great earthquake of 1356, rebuilt in the fourteenth and 15th century, extensively reconstructed in the mid-nineteenth century and further restored in the late twentieth century. A memorial to Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
lies inside the Münster. The City Hall from the 16th century is located on the Market Square and is decorated with fine murals on the outer walls and on the walls of the inner court.
Basel is also host to an array of buildings by internationally renowned architects. These include the Beyeler Foundation
Beyeler Foundation
The Beyeler Foundation or Fondation Beyeler with its museum in Riehen near Basel owns and oversees the art collection of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler that was built up by the couple over five decades and placed under the aegis of the foundation in 1982. The collection was first publicly exhibited in its...
by Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
, or the Vitra
Vitra (furniture)
Vitra is a Swiss manufacturer of designer furniture. Vitra is the European manufacturer and retailer of the works of many internationally renowned furniture designers...
complex in nearby Weil am Rhein, composed of buildings by architects such as Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
(fire station), Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
(design museum
Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum is an internationally renowned, privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany.Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum founded the museum in 1989 as an independent private foundation...
), Alvaro Siza Vieira
Álvaro Siza Vieira
Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira, GOSE, GCIH, is a Portuguese architect, born 25 June 1933 in Matosinhos a small coastal town by Porto. He is internationally known as Álvaro Siza .-Life and career:...
(factory building) and Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando
is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture was once categorized by Francesco Dal Co as critical regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field...
(conference centre). Basel also features buildings by Mario Botta
Mario Botta
Mario Botta is a Swiss architect. He studied at the Liceo Artistico in Milan and the IUAV in Venice. His ideas were influenced by Le Corbusier, Carlo Scarpa, Louis Kahn. He opened his own practice in 1970 in Lugano.-Career:...
(Jean Tinguely Museum and Bank of International settlements) and Herzog & de Meuron
Herzog & de Meuron
Herzog & de Meuron Architekten, BSA/SIA/ETH is a Swiss architecture firm, founded and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland in 1978. The careers of founders and senior partners Jacques Herzog , and Pierre de Meuron , closely paralleled one another, with both attending the Swiss Federal Institute of...
(whose architectural practice is in Basel, and who are best known as the architects of Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
in London). The city received the Wakker Prize
Wakker Prize
The Wakker Prize is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage....
in 1996.
Heritage sites
Basel features a great number of heritage sites of national significanceSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
.
These include the entire Old Town of Basel as well as the following buildings and collections:
Churches and monasteries: Old Catholic
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
Prediger Church, Bischofshof with Collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
at Rittergasse 1, Domhof at Münsterplatz 10–12, Former Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
House of St Margarethental, Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Church of St Antonius, Lohnhof (Former Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
Collegiate Church), Mission 21, Archive of the evangelischen Missionswerks Basel, Münster (Cathedral)
Basel Münster
The Basel Münster is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof...
, Reformed
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
Elisabethenkirche, Reformed Johanneskirche, Reformed Leonhardskirche (former Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
Abbey), Reformed Martinskirche, Reformed Pauluskirche, Reformed Peterskirche, Reformed St. Albankirche with cloister and cemetrery, Reformed Theodorskirche, Synagoge at Eulerstrasse 2
Secular buildings: Badischer Bahnhof (Train Station) with Fountain, Bank for International Settlements
Bank for International Settlements
The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
, Blaues Haus (Reichensteinerhof) at Rheinsprung 16, Bruderholzschul House at Fritz-Hauser-Strasse 20, Brunschwiler House at Hebelstrasse 15, Bandesbahnhof SBB
Basel SBB railway station
Basel SBB is the central railway station in the city of Basel in Switzerland. Trains run by the Swiss Federal Railways to destinations within Switzerland use this station, as well as Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express trains to Germany as well as Zürich and Interlaken...
(Train Station), Bürgerspital, Café Spitz (Merianflügel), Coop Schweiz Company's Central Archive, Depot of the Archäologischen Bodenforschung des Kantons, Former Gallizian Paper Mill and Swiss Museum of Paper
Basel Paper Mill
The Basel Paper Mill , also known as the Swiss Museum for Paper, Writing and Printing in Basel, is primarily dedicated to papermaking, the art of book printing and writing in general...
, Former Klingental-Kaserne with Klingental Church, Fasnachtsbrunnen (Fountain), Feuerschützenhaus (Fire Station) at Schützenmattstrasse 56, Fischmarktbrunnen (fountain), Geltenzunft at Marktplatz 13, Gymnasium (School) am Kohlenberg (St Leonhard), Hauptpost (Main Post Office), House zum Raben at Aeschenvorstadt 15, Hohenfirstenhof at Rittergasse 19, Holsteinerhof at Hebelstrasse 30, Mittlere Rhein Brücke (Mid-Rhine Bridge) Music Hall at Steinenberg 14, Ramsteinerhof at Rittergasse 7 and 9, Rathaus
Rathaus
Rathaus is a German word literally translating as “council house”, meaning “city hall” or “town hall”. Many specific buildings are referred to as Rathaus even when spoken about in English.Some important Rathäuser are:* Rathaus Schöneberg...
(Town Hall), Rundhof Building of the Schweizerischen Mustermesse, Safranzunft at Gerbergasse 11, Sandgrube at Riehenstrasse 154, Schlösschen (Manor House) Gundeldingen, Schönes Haus and Schöner Hof at Nadelberg 6, Wasgenring Schoolhouse, Seidenhof with painting of Rudolf von Habsburg, Spalenhof at Spalenberg 12, Spiesshof at Heuberg 7, City Walls, Townhouse (formerly Post Office) at Stadthausgasse 13 / Totengässlein 6, Weisses House at Martinsgasse 3, Wildtsches House at Petersplatz 13, House Zum Neuen Singer at Speiserstrasse 98, Wolfgottesacker at Münchensteinerstrasse 99, Zerkindenhof at Nadelberg 10
Archaeological sites: the Celtic Settlement at Gasfabrik, Münsterhügel and Old City (Late La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
and medieval settlement)
Museums, archives and collections: Anatomical Museum of the University Basel, Berri-Villen and Museum of Ancient Art and Ludwig Collection
Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig
Founded in 1961, the Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig is one of the many museums in the Swiss city of Basel and a heritage site of national significance....
, Former Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Barefoot Order Church and Basel Historical Museum, Company Archive of Novartis, House zum Kirschgarten which is part of the Basel Historical Museum, Historic Archive Roche and Industrial Complex Hoffmann-La Roche, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Caricature & Cartoon Museum Basel
Caricature & Cartoon Museum Basel
The Cartoonmuseum Basel is devoted to cartoons, parodies and pastiches of works of art and artists, comics and caricatures. The Basel museum is the only one of its kind within a radius of 500 kilometers...
, Karl Barth-Archive, Kleines Klingental (Lower Klingen Valley) with Museum Klingental, Art Museum
Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, which made it the first municipally owned museum...
with Copperplate Collection, Natural History Museum of Basel
Natural History Museum of Basel
With a heritage dating back over 300 years, the Natural History Museum of Basel in Basel, Switzerland, houses wide-ranging collections primarily focused on the fields of zoology, entomology, mineralogy, anthropology, osteology and paleontology...
and the Museum of Cultures Basel
Museum of Cultures Basel
The Museum of Cultures Basel is a Swiss museum of ethnography with large and important collections of artifacts, especially from Europe, the South Pacific, Mesoamerica, Tibet, and Bali...
, Museum of Culture and Natural History, Museum of Modern Art Basel with the E. Hoffmann collection, St. Alban-Rheinweg 60, Museum Jean Tinguely Basel, Music Museum, Pharmacy Historical Museum of the Universität Basel, Poster Collection of the Schule für Gestaltung (School for Design), Swiss Business Archives, Sculpture Hall,Sports Museum of Switzerland, Archives of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, UBS AG Corporate Archives, University Library with manuscripts and music collection, Zoologischer Garten
Education
Basel hosts Switzerland's oldest university, the University of BaselUniversity of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
, dating from 1460. Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
, Paracelsus
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
, Daniel Bernoulli
Daniel Bernoulli
Daniel Bernoulli was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics...
, Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
, Jacob Burckhardt
Jacob Burckhardt
Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt was a historian of art and culture, and an influential figure in the historiography of each field. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history, albeit in a form very different from how cultural history is conceived and studied in academia today...
, and Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
worked here. More recently, its work in tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
has gained prominence.
In 2007, the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) established the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) in Basel. The creation of the D-BSSE was driven by a Swiss-wide research initiative SystemsX, and was jointly supported by funding from the ETH Zurich, the Swiss Government, the Swiss University Conference (SUC) and private industry.
Basel is renowned for various scientific societies, as the Entomological Society of Basel (Entomologische Gesellschaft Basel, EGB), which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005.
Basel counts several International Schools
International school
An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...
, including the International School of Basel
International School Basel
International School Basel is a school for students from pre-school to 12th grade. The ISB is an accredited IB World School, and offers the IB Diploma Programme , the IB Middle Years Programme , and the IB Primary Years Programme ....
, the Schule für Gestaltung Basel
Schule für Gestaltung Basel
Switzerland's Schule für Gestaltung Basel at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule and its students have influenced the international graphic design community since it opened in 1968. Its tradition was shaped by influential personalities such as Armin Hofmann, Emil Ruder, Kurt Hauert and Wolfgang Weingart...
, the Minerva School and the Rhine Academy.
In Basel about 57,864 or (34.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 27,603 or (16.6%) have completed additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 27,603 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.4% were Swiss men, 31.1% were Swiss women, 13.9% were non-Swiss men and 10.6% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 5,820 students in Basel who came from another municipality, while 1,116 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Basel is home to at least 65 libraries. Some of the largest include; the Universitätsbibliothek Basel (main university library), the special libraries of the Universität Basel, the Allgemein Bibliotheken der GGG Basel, the Library of the Pädagogische Hochschule, the Library of the Hochschule für Soziale Arbeit and the Library of the Hochschule für Wirtschaft. There was a combined total of 8,443,643 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 1,722,802 items were loaned out.
Politics
Geo-politically, the city of Basel functions as the capital of the Swiss half-cantonCantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Basel-Stadt
Basel-City
Basel-Stadt is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The city of Basel and the municipalities of Bettingen and Riehen form its territory.-History:...
, though several of its suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s form part of the half-canton of Basel-Landschaft
Basel-Country
Basel-Landschaft , is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The capital is Liestal...
or of the canton of Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
(or of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
or Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
).
In the 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 37.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(18.08%), the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(12.97%) and the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(10.99%). In the federal election, a total of 51,012 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 51.4%.
Energy
Basel is at the forefront of a national vision to more than halve energy useEnergy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
in Switzerland by 2050. In order to research, develop and commercialise the technologies and techniques required for the country to become a '2000 Watt society
2000-watt society
The 2000-watt society is a vision, originated by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich at the end of 1998, in which each person in the developed world would cut their over-all rate of energy use to an average of no more than 2,000 watts The 2000-watt society (2,000-Watt Society) is a...
', a number of projects have been set up since 2001 in the Basel metropolitan area. These including demonstration buildings constructed to MINERGIE
Minergie
MINERGIE is a registered quality label for new and refurbished low-energy-consumption buildings. This label is mutually supported by the Swiss Confederation, the Swiss Cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein along with Trade and Industry. The label is registered in Switzerland and around the...
or Passivhaus
Passive house
The term passive house refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. A similar standard, MINERGIE-P, is used in...
standards, electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
generation from renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
sources, and vehicles using natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, hydrogen
Hydrogen economy
The hydrogen economy is a proposed system of delivering energy using hydrogen. The term hydrogen economy was coined by John Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 at General Motors Technical Center....
and biogas
Biogas
Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...
.
An hot dry rock geothermal energy
Enhanced geothermal systems
Enhanced Geothermal System is a new type of geothermal power technology that does not require natural convective hydrothermal resources. Until recently, geothermal power systems have exploited only resources where naturally occurring heat, water, and rock permeability are sufficient to allow...
project was cancelled in 2009 since it caused induced seismicity in Basel
Induced seismicity in Basel
Induced seismicity in Basel led to suspension of its hot dry rock enhanced geothermal systems project. A seismic-hazard evaluation was then conducted, resulting in the cancellation of the project in December 2009. Basel, Switzerland sits atop a historically active fault and most of the city was...
.
Notable people born or resident in Basel
- Chiara BanchiniChiara BanchiniChiara Banchini is a Swiss violinist, involved in the historical performance practice movement. She specializes in the music of the Baroque.Banchini was born in 1946 in Lugano, Switzerland. She graduated from the Geneva Conservatory; following this she studied under Sandor Vegh and then at the...
(born 1946), violinist and conductor. - Ana IvanovićAna IvanovicAna Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
(born 1987), tennis player. - Karl BarthKarl BarthKarl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
(1886–1968), Reformed Protestant theologian. - Bernoulli family
- Daniel BernoulliDaniel BernoulliDaniel Bernoulli was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics...
(1700–1782), mathematician. - James Bernoulli (1654–1705), mathematician.
- Johann BernoulliJohann BernoulliJohann Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family...
(1667–1748), mathematician.
- Daniel Bernoulli
- Peter BirkhäuserPeter BirkhäuserPeter Birkhäuser was a Swiss poster artist, portraitist, and visionary painter, noted for his paintings illustrating imagery from dreams in the context of analytical psychology.- Life and work :...
(1911–1976), painter. - Gottlieb BurckhardtGottlieb BurckhardtJohann Gottlieb Burckhardt was a Swiss psychiatrist and the medical director of small mental hospital in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. He is commonly regarded as having performed the first modern psychosurgical operation...
(1836–1907), psychiatrist, father of modern psychosurgeryPsychosurgeryPsychosurgery, also called neurosurgery for mental disorder , is the neurosurgical treatment of mental disorder. Psychosurgery has always been a controversial medical field. The modern history of psychosurgery begins in the 1880s under the Swiss psychiatrist Gottlieb Burckhardt...
. - Jacob BurckhardtJacob BurckhardtCarl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt was a historian of art and culture, and an influential figure in the historiography of each field. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history, albeit in a form very different from how cultural history is conceived and studied in academia today...
(1818–1897), historian, theologian, philosopher. - Florian BurkhardtElectroboyElectroboy, , is a Swiss electronic musician and music producer. He lives in Bochum, Germany and is often in Zürich, Switzerland. Electroboy produces electronic trash-pop and electroclash with simple, cheeky content.- Biography:At an early age, Burkhardt dreamt of becoming a professional snowboarder...
(born 1974), composer, author. - John CalvinJohn CalvinJohn Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
(born 1509), minister. - Arthur CohnArthur CohnArthur Cohn is a film producer.Six of his films have won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and he was awarded the Guardian of Zion Award in 2004...
(born 1927), film producer. - Jean DaetwylerJean DaetwylerJean Daetwyler was a Swiss composer and musician. He is remembered mostly for his largely forgotten works for alphorn inspired by Jozsef Molnar beginning in 1970. Also inspired by trombonist Branimir Slokar an other aspects of Swiss culture.Daetwyler was a pupil of Vincent d'Indy at the Paris...
(1907–1994), alphornAlphornThe alphorn or alpenhorn or alpine horn is a labrophone, consisting of a natural wooden horn of conical bore, having a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece, used by mountain dwellers in Switzerland and elsewhere...
composer. - Eren DerdiyokEren DerdiyokEren Derdiyok is a Swiss footballer of Kurdish descent. He plays as a striker.-Club career:BSC Old Boys:At Derdiyok is a powerful striker who can also fill in a centre-back if needed. He started his career with Swiss minnows BSC Old Boys at the beginning of the 2005–06 season in which scored 10...
(born 1988), footballer. - ErasmusDesiderius ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
(c.CircaCirca , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1466–1536), Biblical scholar, humanist, theologian. - Leonhard EulerLeonhard EulerLeonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
(1707–1783), mathematician. - Roger FedererRoger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
(born 1981), tennis player. - John FoxeJohn FoxeJohn Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
(1517–1587), English Protestant and Marian exile. - Alexander Frei (born 1979), footballer.
- Katy FrenchKaty FrenchKaty Ellen French was an Irish socialite, model, writer, television personality and charity worker. According to the BBC, "in the space of less than two years, she had become one of Ireland's best-known models and socialites." She collapsed at a friend's house on 2 December 2007 and died on 6...
(1983–2007), model and socialite. - Urs GrafUrs GrafUrs Graf was a Swiss Renaissance painter and printmaker , as well as a mercenary soldier. He only produced two etchings, one of which dates from 1513 – the earliest known etching for which a date has been established...
(1485-possibly 1530), Renaissance print-maker and artist. - Georg Friedrich HaasGeorg Friedrich HaasGeorg Friedrich Haas is an Austrian composer of spectral music.He grew up in Tschagguns and studied composition with Gösta Neuwirth, Iván Erőd, and piano with Doris Wolf at the Musikhochschule in Graz...
(born 1953), Austrian composer. - Jakob Emanuel HandmannJakob Emanuel Handmannthumb|Portrait of Jakob Emanuel Handmann .Jakob Emanuel Handmann was a Swiss painter specialised in portrait painting...
(1718–1781), painter. - Johann Peter HebelJohann Peter HebelJohann Peter Hebel was a German short story writer and dialectal poet, most famous for his collection of alemannic tales Schatzkästlein des rheinischen Hausfreundes .-Life:...
(1760–1826), poet and author. - Albert HofmannAlbert HofmannAlbert Hofmann was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide . He authored more than 100 scientific articles and a number of books, including LSD: My Problem Child...
(1906–2008), chemist, discoverer of LSD. - Agostino ImondiAgostino ImondiAgostino Imondi is an Italian documentary film director based in Berlin, Germany.-Career:Imondi set foot in the media industry in the year 2000, starting as a volunteer camera operator and editor for Melbourne community TV station Channel 31....
(1975), filmmaker - Niels Kai Jerne (1911–1994), immunologist
- Carl Gustav JungCarl JungCarl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
(1875–1961), psychiatrist. - Lucius Munatius PlancusLucius Munatius PlancusLucius Munatius Plancus was a Roman senator, consul in 42 BC, and censor in 22 BC with Aemilius Lepidus Paullus...
(c.87 BC87 BCYear 87 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavius and Cinna/Merula...
–c.15 BC15 BCYear 15 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
), Basel's founder. - Christoph MerianChristoph MerianChristoph Merian was a banker and businessman. He was the son of Christoph Merian senior and Valeria Hoffmann and married in 1824 to Margarethe Burckhardt from Basel.He was the owner of a large estate, agriculturist and rentier. He was one of the richest Swiss men of that time...
(1800–1858), banker and businessman. - Joachim MeyerJoachim MeyerJoachim Meyer was a self described Freifechter living in the then Free Imperial City of Strassburg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch Gründtliche Beschreibung der kunst des Fechten first published in 1570.Meyer's book was reprinted in 1600, and may have been an...
(c.1537?–1571), fencer and author. - Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
(1844–1900), German philosopher. - ParacelsusParacelsusParacelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
(1493–1541), scientist. - Leonhard Thurneysen (1531–1596), alchemist.
- Frithjof SchuonFrithjof SchuonFrithjof Schuon, was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality....
(1907–1998), religious philosopher. - Adrian SieberAdrian SieberAdrian Benjamin Sieber, is a Swiss singer and the lead singer in the Swiss britpop band Lovebugs, and has been so since the band started in 1992. Sieber is has written a the majority of the Lovebugs' songs....
(born 1972), singer. - Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
(born 1946), American lutenist. - Andreas Vesalius (1446), pioneering anatomist.
- Gustav Bertha (Gordon Bell) (born 1969), singer-songwriter.
- Hakan YakinHakan YakinHakan Yakin is a Swiss footballer. He currently plays for Swiss Super League club FC Luzern. He was member of the Swiss national team for eleven years.-Personal life:...
(born 1977), footballer. - Alice EckensteinAlice EckensteinAlice Emilie Eckenstein . Swiss rescuer of children in need in occupied Belgium during World War I.- Life :...
(1890–1984), Swiss child rescuer in occupied Belgium during WW I.
Sport
Basel has a reputation in Switzerland as a successful sporting city. The football club FC BaselFC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...
continues to be successful and in recognition of this the city was one of the Swiss venues for the 2008 European Championships, as well as Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Bern. The championships were jointly hosted by Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. BSC Old Boys
BSC Old Boys
Basler Sportclub Old Boys, commonly known as BSC Old Boys or Old Boys Basel, is a Swiss sports club based in Basel. The club is mainly known for its football but it also has track, swimming and tennis sections...
and Concordia Basel are the other football teams in Basel.
Basel features a large football stadium
St. Jakob-Park
' is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity was increased to 42,500 for Euro 2008, which was hosted by Switzerland...
that has been awarded four stars by UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
, a modern ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
hall, and an admitted sports hall.
A large indoor tennis event takes place in Basel every October. Some of the best ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
-Professionals play every year at the Swiss Indoors
Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The Swiss Indoors is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. Originally an event of the Grand Prix tennis circuit between 1970 and 1989. It is currently part of the World Tour 500 Series of the ATP Tour. It is held annually at the St...
, including Switzerland's biggest sporting hero and frequent participant Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, a Basel native who describes the city as "one of the most beautiful cities in the world".
Culture
Basel has a thriving cultural life. (In 1997, it contended to become the "European Capital of CultureEuropean Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
", though the honor went instead to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
) Basel is the home of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, and focusing on early music and historically informed performance....
, founded in 1933, a worldwide centre for research on and performance of music from the Medieval through the Baroque eras. Theater Basel
Theater Basel
Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas....
presents a busy schedule of play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
s in addition to being home to the city's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
companies. Basel is home to the largest orchestra in Switzerland, the Sinfonieorchester Basel
Sinfonieorchester Basel
The Sinfonieorchester Basel is a Swiss orchestra based in Basel. The orchestra performs symphony concerts at the Musiksaal, Basel. The orchestra also serves as the opera orchestra and ballet orchestra for the Theater Basel...
. It is also the home of the Kammerorchester Basel, which is recording the complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
label led by its music director Giovanni Antonini
Giovanni Antonini
Giovanni Antonini is an Italian conductor and soloist on the recorder and baroque transverse flute. He studied in his native Milan, and attended the Civica Scuola di Musica in that city and the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva...
. The baroque orchestras La Cetra and Capriccio Basel are also based in Basel. In May 2004, the fifth European Festival of Youth Choirs (Europäisches Jugendchorfestival, or EJCF) choir festival opened: this Basel tradition started in 1992. Host of this festival is the local Basel Boys Choir
Basel Boys Choir
The Basel Boys Choir is a Swiss boys' choir based in Basel; it grew out of the Boys' Choir of the Protestant Church of Basel-City, founded by Hermann Ulbrich in 1927. Today the choir is non-denominational. They sing both sacred and secular works...
.
Events
The carnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
of the city of Basel (Basler Fasnacht
Carnival of Basel
The Carnival of Basel is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe.- Overview :...
) is a major cultural event in the year. The carnival is the biggest in Switzerland and attracts large crowds every year, despite the fact that it starts at exactly four in the morning (Morgestraich) on a winter Monday. The Fasnacht asserts Basel's Protestant history by commencing the revelry five days after Ash Wednesday and continuing day and night for exactly 72 hours. Almost all study and work in the old city cease. Dozens of fife and drum clubs parade in medieval guild tradition with fantastical masks and illuminated lanterns, eventually yielding to other loud and irreverent festivity. Basel is also host to the Basel Tattoo and a number of fairs.
Cuisine
There are a number of culinary specialties originating in Basel, including Basler LäckerliBasler Läckerli
The Basler Läckerli is a traditional hard spice biscuit originating from Basel, Switzerland. It is made of honey, hazelnuts, candied peel, and Kirsch....
cookies and Mässmogge
Mässmogge
Mässmogge are thumb-sized, hazelnut praline-filled sugar candies. They are a regional and seasonal specialty of Basel, Switzerland, where they are made and sold at around the time of the autumn fair.-Name:...
candies.
Zoo
Zoo Basel
Zoo Basel is a non-profit zoo located within the city of Basel, Switzerland. Its official name is Zoologischer Garten Basel — or in English: Basel Zoological Garden. Basel residents, however, call their zoo affectionately Zolli...
is, with nearly 1.7 million visitors per year, the most visited tourist attraction in Basel and the second most visited tourist attraction with a fee in Switzerland.
Established in 1874, Zoo Basel is the oldest zoo in Switzerland and, by animals, the largest. Through its history, Zoo Basel has had several breeding successes, such as the first worldwide Indian rhinoceros
Indian Rhinoceros
The Indian Rhinoceros is also called Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and Asian One-horned Rhinoceros and belongs to the Rhinocerotidae family...
birth and Greater flamingo
Greater Flamingo
The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
hatch in a zoo. These and other achievements led Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
Travel to rank Zoo Basel as one of the fifteen best zoos in the world in 2008.
Despite its international fame, Basel's population remains attached to Zoo Basel, which is entirely surrounded by the city of Basel. Evidence of this is the millions of donations money each year, as well as Zoo Basel's unofficial name: locals lovingly call "their" zoo "Zolli" by which is it known throughout Basel and most of Switzerland.
Museums
The Basel museumsMuseums in Basel
The Basel museums encompass a series of museums in the city of Basel, Switzerland, and the neighboring region. They represent a broad spectrum of collections with a marked concentration in the fine arts and house numerous holdings of international significance...
cover a broad and diverse spectrum of collections
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
with a marked concentration in the fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
s. They house numerous holdings of international significance. The over three dozen institutions yield an extraordinarily high density of museums compared to other cities of similar size and draw over one million visitors annually.
Constituting an essential component of Basel culture and cultural policy, the museums are the result of closely interwoven private and public collecting activities and promotion of arts and culture going back to the 16th century. The public museum collection was first created back in 1661 and represents the oldest public collection in continuous existence. Since the late 1980s, various private collections have been made accessible to the public in new purpose-built structures that have been recognized as acclaimed examples of avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
museum architecture
Museum architecture
Museum architecture has been of increasing importance over the centuries, especially more recently.A challenge for museum architecture is the differing purposes of the building. The museum collection must be preserved, but it also needs to be made accessible to the public...
.
- Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung LudwigAntikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung LudwigFounded in 1961, the Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig is one of the many museums in the Swiss city of Basel and a heritage site of national significance....
Ancient cultures of the mediterranean museum - Augusta RauricaAugusta RauricaAugusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland. Located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst, it is the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine....
Roman open-air museum - Basel Paper MillBasel Paper MillThe Basel Paper Mill , also known as the Swiss Museum for Paper, Writing and Printing in Basel, is primarily dedicated to papermaking, the art of book printing and writing in general...
- Beyeler FoundationBeyeler FoundationThe Beyeler Foundation or Fondation Beyeler with its museum in Riehen near Basel owns and oversees the art collection of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler that was built up by the couple over five decades and placed under the aegis of the foundation in 1982. The collection was first publicly exhibited in its...
(Foundation Beyeler) Beyeler Museum (Fondation Beyeler) - Botanical Garden Basel One of the oldest botanical gardens in the world
- Caricature & Cartoon Museum BaselCaricature & Cartoon Museum BaselThe Cartoonmuseum Basel is devoted to cartoons, parodies and pastiches of works of art and artists, comics and caricatures. The Basel museum is the only one of its kind within a radius of 500 kilometers...
- Dollhouse MuseumDollhouse MuseumThe Dollhouse Museum in Basel is the largest museum of its kind in Europe. The museum is located at Barfüsserplatz in the city center.- Collection :...
- Historical Museum Basel
- Kunsthalle BaselKunsthalle BaselSince opening in 1872, Kunsthalle Basel has examined various positions concerning contemporary art. This renowned exhibition space in the Swiss city of Basel has a very long tradition of supporting avant-garde artists and expanding the accepted boundaries of contemporary art. Contemporary art...
Modern and contemporary art museum - Kunstmuseum BaselKunstmuseum BaselThe Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, which made it the first municipally owned museum...
Upper RhenishUpper RhineThe Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....
and Flemish paintingFlemish paintingFlemish painting flourished from the early 15th century until the 17th century. Flanders delivered the leading painters in Northern Europe and attracted many promising young painters from neighbouring countries. These painters were invited to work at foreign courts and had a Europe-wide influence...
s, drawingDrawingDrawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s from 1400 to 1600 and 19th- to 21st-century art - Monteverdi Automuseum
- Museum of Cultures BaselMuseum of Cultures BaselThe Museum of Cultures Basel is a Swiss museum of ethnography with large and important collections of artifacts, especially from Europe, the South Pacific, Mesoamerica, Tibet, and Bali...
Large collections on European and non-Europeancultural life - Museum of Contemporary ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art (Basel)The Museum of Contemporary Art in Basel opened in 1980 as the first public museum in Europe exclusively dedicated to the production and practice of contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. It is a heritage site of national significance....
Art from the 1960s up to the present - Music MuseumMusic Museum (Basel)The Music Museum of the Basel History Museum in the former Lohnhof prison houses Switzerland’s largest collection of musical instruments.The Music Museum is a heritage site of national significance...
of the Basel Historic Museum - Natural History Museum of BaselNatural History Museum of BaselWith a heritage dating back over 300 years, the Natural History Museum of Basel in Basel, Switzerland, houses wide-ranging collections primarily focused on the fields of zoology, entomology, mineralogy, anthropology, osteology and paleontology...
- Pharmazie-Historisches Museum der Universität BaselPharmazie-Historisches Museum der Universität BaselThe Pharmazie-Historisches Museum in Basel, Switzerland, is dedicated to pharmaceutical history and houses one of the world’s largest collections on the subject...
- Puppenhausmuseum – a museum houring the largest teddy bear collection in Europe.
- SchaulagerSchaulagerThe Schaulager is a museum in Newmünchenstein, a sub-district of Münchenstein in the canton of Basel-Country, Switzerland.Built in 2002/2003 under commission of the Laurenz Foundation, is was designed by the renowned architectural office of Herzog & de Meuron, the Schaulager opened in 2003...
Modern and contemporary art museum - Swiss Architecture MuseumSwiss Architecture MuseumThrough its program of temporary exhibitions and events, the S AM Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel contributes to international debates on architecture and urban development as well as related sociopolitical aspects. In addition, the museum issues publications and holds special events in...
- Tinguely MuseumTinguely MuseumThe Museum Tinguely is an art museum in Basel, Switzerland that contains a permanent exhibition of the works of Swiss painter and sculptor Jean Tinguely...
Life and work of the major Swiss iron sculptor Jean TinguelyJean TinguelyJean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptural machines or kinetic art, in the Dada tradition; known officially as metamechanics... - Vitra Design MuseumVitra Design MuseumThe Vitra Design Museum is an internationally renowned, privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany.Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum founded the museum in 1989 as an independent private foundation...
Museum in Weil am RheinWeil am RheinWeil am Rhein is a German town and commune which is a suburb of the city of Basel in Switzerland. It is situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.-Geography:Weil am Rhein is...
near Basel
External links
- Official Website
- Official Website of the Administration
- Official Picture Database of the City of Basel
- Official tourism site
- Rhine Online: an English language guide to Basel, the Alsace and Baden Wuerrtemberg
- EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, Basel-Mulhouse Airport
- Overview of museums in Basel or basel museums
- Portrait of Basel's tramways
- Basel Tourism & Hotels
- Interview with Theodora Vischer, director of the Schaulager in Basel, Switzerland