Basel

Things to do here

• Walls of Basel

  The Basel city walls are a complex of walls surrounding the central part of the Swiss city of Basel, only partially preserved today. The first city wall was completed around 1080 under bishop Burkhard von Fenis. A newer wall was constructed around 1230, which is known as the Inner Wall. Its course was mostly identical to the Burkhard wall. In 1362 the construction of a larger wall complex began due to the city's expansion; it was completed in 1398, and is known as the Outer Wall. In 1859 the city's executives decided to raze the inner wall and gates to the ground. Three outer city gates and a short piece of the wall were saved from demolition and are being preserved as part of the city's heritage.

• Birsig

  The Birsig (German pronunciation: [ˈbɪʁzɪç]) is a rather small river in eastern France and northern Switzerland. Its source is in the village Biederthal, in the French Haut-Rhin department, near the Swiss border. The Birsig is about 21 kilometres (13 mi) long, and its watershed area is about 82 square kilometres (32 mi2). It flows variably through Swiss and French territory and through the Birsig Valley. Afterwards it passes the city of Basel, where it enters the Rhine (left bank). The river Birsig originally flowed openly through Basel, but the river was long ago channelled and its banks built up to prevent water damage to the houses. The river flowed directly along the houses in the lower part of the city, where many bridges were built over. It took the fecal waste from the houses and was therefore called "the city's big cloaca", which favoured the outbreak of cholera and typhus. Nowadays the Birsig is covered over for most of its course in Basel; there are just a few hundred meters around the city zoo where the Birsig can be seen openly.

• Middle Bridge, Basel

• Basel Town Hall

  The Basel Town Hall (German: Rathaus Basel, locally known as Roothuus) is a 500-year-old building dominating the Marktplatz in Basel, Switzerland. The Town Hall houses the meetings of the Cantonal Parliament as well as the Cantonal Government of the canton of Basel-Stadt.

• The Blue and The White House

  The Blue and The White House (Blaues und Weisses Haus) are two town mansions in the city of Basel. The semi-detached baroque mansions on the Rheinsprung 16 and 18 in Basel, also known as “The Reichensteinerhof” and “The Wendelstörferhof”, were built by the architect Samuel Werenfels for the brothers Lukas and Jakob Sarasin between 1763 and 1775. “The White House” belonged to Lukas (1730 – 1802) and “The Blue House” to his younger brother Jakob (1742 – 1802). The two patricians had a manufactory for silk products. Descendants of them were the founders of the Bank Sarasin & Cie. in Basel. The still mainly original interiors of the mansions were executed by highly skilled craftsmen. The stucco ceilings were made by Johann Martin Frohweis and the faience stoves were delivered by the Frisching Faience Manufactory. The numerous sopraporte were painted by German artists. The two mansions were bought by the canton and the city of Basel in 1942 and in 1968. Nowadays, they are the seat of the Department for Economy, Social Welfare and Environment.

• Haus zum Sessel

• Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel

  The Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel (Pharmaziemuseum der Universität Basel, formerly Pharmazie-Historisches Museum der Universität Basel, originally Sammlung für das historische Apothekenwesen) shows in its permanent collection the history of medicinal remedies and their preparation. Designed as a collection of specimens for study purposes, the museum was founded in 1924 by Josef Anton Häfliger (1873–1954) and has been preserved to this day in its original form as a 'scientific cabinet'. The museum is one of the largest and most significant collections of pharmaceutical objects and the history of pharmacy. It contains pharmaceutical ceramics, complete fixtures and fittings from historical pharmacies, an alchemical laboratory, mortars, historical first aid kits, books, medications used in the past, and everything related to the preparation of medicinal remedies.

• Natural History Museum of Basel

  Natural History Museum Basel (German: Naturhistorisches Museum Basel) is a natural history museum in Basel, Switzerland that houses wide-ranging collections focused on the fields of zoology, entomology, mineralogy, anthropology, osteology and paleontology. It has over 11 million objects. It was established as a natural history collection in 1821. The museum is a heritage site of national significance. Here, the mummy of Anna Catharina Bischoff is kept and examined. It was found in 1975 during excavations in the Barfüsserkirche Basel. The skeleton of Theo the Pipe Smoker was found 1984 near the Theodorskirche in Kleinbasel.

• Zwingerhaus