- Also spelled:
- Basle
- French:
- Bâle
Basel
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Where is Basel located?
Basel is in northern Switzerland, along the Rhine River, where the Birs and Wiese rivers meet. It sits at the meeting point of the French, German, and Swiss borders, marking the entrance to the Swiss Rhineland. The Rhine divides the city into two parts, connected by six bridges. Basel's location, first at a bridge crossing the Rhine and then at the head of modern Rhine navigation, has been of particular significance.
Basel is the capital of the Halbkanton (demicanton) of Basel-Stadt. Basel is one of many old and famous cities that lie on the banks of the Rhine River.
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Which river runs through Basel?
The Rhine River runs through Basel, Switzerland. The Rhine divides the city into two parts, which are connected by six bridges. Basel lies where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet, at the entrance to the Swiss Rhineland. Basel is an important distribution center for foreign trade and one of Europe's railway nodal points, as well as a significant river port.
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What languages are commonly spoken in Basel?
The population of Basel is mainly German speaking. The dialects spoken in the city are classified as Low Alemannic. Although standard High German is used for writing, sermons, and public lectures, Swiss German dialects are used for other purposes by all Swiss Germans.
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What is Basel known for in terms of culture or history?
Basel, Switzerland, is known for its rich cultural and historical significance. It was the site of the Ecumenical Council (1431–49) and the home of Switzerland's first university, founded in 1460. With the arrival of Desiderius Erasmus, the city became a center for humanism and the Protestant Reformation. Basel's cultural institutions include the Kunstmuseum Basel, which features works by artists who lived and worked in the city, and the Foundation Beyeler, known for its exhibitions of 20th-century painters. The city's Fasnacht parades are also particularly noteworthy.
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Why is Basel important for art and museums?
Basel is important for art and museums because it is home to renowned institutions such as the Kunstmuseum Basel, established in 1662, which was the first publicly owned art collection in Europe. The museum is noted for its European paintings and modern sculpture. The city's cultural significance is also due to its location on the Rhine River, where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet. Basel's long history as a center of humanism and the Protestant Reformation, along with its university founded in 1460, contribute to its cultural importance.
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How does Basel's location near the borders of France and Germany influence its culture?
Basel's location, where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet, significantly influences its culture. As a major distributing center for foreign trade, Basel benefits from its position as one of Europe's railway nodal points and an important river port.
The city is known as a center of humanism and for its cultural institutions, such as the Kunstmuseum Basel, which hosts art from artists who lived and worked in Basel. Although the population is mainly German-speaking, its location has made it a multicultural city. Basel is home to the Bank for International Settlements, which handles monetary policy research and serves as a central bank for other central banks.
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Basel, capital of the Halbkanton (demicanton) of Basel-Stadt (with which it is virtually coextensive), northern Switzerland. It lies along the Rhine River, at the mouths of the Birs and Wiese rivers, where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet, at the entrance to the Swiss Rhineland.
It was originally a Celtic settlement of the Rauraci tribe. The name Basilia seems first to have been applied to a Roman fortification mentioned in 374 ce. At the beginning of the 5th century, the bishop of Augusta Raurica moved his see there. The city’s university, the first in Switzerland, was founded in 1460 by Pope Pius II, who had been in Basel for the celebrated Ecumenical Council (1431–49). In 1501 Basel was admitted into the Swiss Confederation. With the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus teaching at the university (1521–29), the city became a center of humanism and of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. The Counter-Reformation brought skilled workmen as refugees from other parts of Europe, and by the 18th century political power was in the hands of the trade guilds. In 1831 the rural part of the canton revolted, proclaiming independence the following year; in 1833 it was organized into the demicanton of Basel-Landschaft, the city forming that of Basel-Stadt.
The Rhine, bending northward, divides the city into two parts, linked by six bridges. Kleinbasel, to the north, is the Rhine port and industrial section, with the buildings of the annual Swiss Industries Fair. Grossbasel, the older commercial and cultural center on the south bank, is dominated by the Romanesque and Gothic-style Münster (Protestant); consecrated in 1019, it was Basel’s cathedral until 1528 and has a monumental slab to Erasmus, who is entombed there. Other notable buildings are the late Gothic Rathaus, or town hall (1504–21); the Church of St. Martin, the oldest religious foundation in Basel; and the former 14th-century Franciscan church, now housing the historical museum. There are three surviving medieval city gates, of which the 15th-century Spalentor (St. Paul’s Gate) is one of the finest in Europe. The new university buildings were completed in 1939; the university library contains manuscripts of the religious reformers Martin Luther, Erasmus, Huldrych Zwingli, and Philipp Melanchthon and of acts of the Ecumenical Council. The public art gallery (Kunstmuseum Basel, founded 1662) has fine collections of works by Hans Holbein the Younger, Konrad Witz, and Arnold Böcklin, all of whom lived and worked in Basel. The museum of the private Foundation Beyeles is renowned for its changing exhibitions of 20th-century painters.
Basel is an important distributing center for foreign trade that produces one-third of the total Swiss Customs’ revenue and is the site of the Bank for International Settlements (1930). The city is one of the nodal points of the railways of Europe and is an equally important river port. Regular air services operate from the international airport at Saint-Louis, in French territory 8 miles (13 km) northwest. Also a major industrial city, Basel is the center of the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Banking and the manufacture of machinery are also important. The population is mainly German speaking. A large portion of the population has no religious affiliation; the remainder is more or less evenly divided between Protestants and Roman Catholics, with a significant Eastern Orthodox minority. Pop. (2007 est.) 163,081.