(British 's third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (
2004 ); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerland's second-largest urban area as of
2003 ).
Located in north-west Switzerland on the river ". It has the oldest
University of the Swiss Confederation (
1460 ).
Basel has Switzerland's only cargo port, through which goods pass along the navigable stretches of the
Rhine .
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is the only airport in the world operated jointly by three countries, France and Switzerland and Germany. Contrary to popular belief, the airport is located completely on French soil. The airport itself is split into two architecturally independent halves, one half serving the French side and the other half serving the Swiss side; there is a customs point at the middle of the airport so that people can "emigrate" to the other side of the airport.
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
SBB ) and French (Basel
SNCF ) stations are actually in the same complex, separated by Customs and Immigration facilities). A goods railway complex exists as well. The new highspeed ICE railway line from Karlsruhe will be completed in 2008.
Basel has an extensive public transportation network serving the city and connecting to surrounding suburbs. The green-colored local , and the bus fleet is mix of electric and conventional fuel-powered vehicles. The BVB also shares commuter bus lines in cooperation with transit authorities in the neighboring Alsace region in France and Baden region in Germany.
An annual Federal Swiss trade fair (Mustermesse) takes place in Kleinbasel on the right bank of the Rhine. Other important trade shows include "Baselworld" (watches and jewelry), Art, Orbit and Cultura.
The Swiss chemical industry operates largely from Basel, with
Novartis ,
Ciba Specialty Chemicals ,
Clariant , and
Hoffmann-La Roche headquartered there. Pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals have become the modern focus of the city's industrial production. Some of the chemical industry's most notable creations include
DDT ,
Araldite and
LSD .
UBS AG maintains central offices in Basel, giving finance a pivotal role in the local economy. The importance of banking began when the
Bank For International Settlements located within the city in 1930. Basel's innovative financial industry includes institutions like the
Basel Committee On Banking Supervision . Responsible for the Basel Accords (''
Basel I '' and ''
Basel II '') , this organization fundamentally changed
Risk Management within its industry.
Basel has Switzerland's tallest building,
Basler Messeturm .
Basel traces its history back to at least the days of the and the sea".
From
999 , Basel was ruled by
Prince-bishop s (see
Bishop Of Basel )
In
1019 the construction of the cathedral of Basel began under German Emperor
Heinrich II .
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.
In
1356 an earthquake caused extensive damage in the city destroying a vast number of castles in the vicinity, allowing the city to offer courts in the city to nobles as an alternative to rebuilding their castles in exchange for their protection of the city. The De Bâle family moves in and helps rebuild the city and surrounding country, but set up house in Basel-Land.
Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th-century
Council Of Basel (
1431 –
1449 ), including the
1439 election of antipope
Felix V .
In
1459 Pope
Pius II endowed the University of Basel where notables like
Erasmus of Rotterdam,
Paracelsus and
Hans Holbein The Younger taught. At the same time printing was introduced in Basel by apprentices of
Gutenberg . The Schwabe publishing house was founded 1488 by Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business.
Johann Froben 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 , the bishop sitting on the Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes.
In
1500 the construction of the cathedral of Basel (German: Münster) was finished.
In
1501 Basel de-facto separated from the Holy Roman Empire and joined the
Swiss Confederation as 11th state, and began of the construction of the city council building. The bishop continued to reside in Basel until the reformation of
Oecolampadius in
1529 . The bishop's
Crook was however retained as the city's
Coat Of Arms .
In March
1536 the first edition of ''Christianae religionis institutio'' (
Institutes Of The Christian Religion ) was published in Latin by
John Calvin at Basel. Intended as a defense of
Huguenot s then persecuted in France, Calvin's
Institutes was an exposition of
Protestant Christian doctrine which later became known as
Calvinism .
In
1543 De Humani Corporis Fabrica , the first anatomy book was published and printed in Basel by
Andreas Vesalius (
1514 –
1564 ).
In
1662 the
Amerbaschsches Kabinett formed the basis of the world's first public art collection and exposition, forming the core of the museum of art of Basel.
Basel is not subdivided into official counties, districts or boroughs, but into unofficial quarters. There are 19 quarters; the municipalities of
Riehen and
Bettingen are not included.
The Romanesque
Münster , with its two (uneven) towers forms an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquake. The tomb of
Erasmus lies inside the Münster.
Basel is also host to an array of buildings by internationally renowned architects, such as the
Beyeler Foundation by
Renzo Piano , or the Vitra complex in nearby Weil am Rhein, comprised of three buildings by
Zaha Hadid (fire station),
Frank Gehry (design museum),
Tadao Ando (conference centre),
Mario Botta (Jean Tinguely Museum and Bank of International settlements)and several buildings by
Herzog & De Meuron (originally from Basel, but otherwise known as the architects of the
Tate Modern in London).
Basel hosts Switzerland's oldest university, the
University Of Basel , dating from
1459 . Erasmus,
Paracelsus ,
Daniel Bernoulli ,
Leonhard Euler and
Friedrich Nietzsche worked here. More recently, its work in tropical medicine has gained prominence.
Basel is renowned for various scientific societies, as the Entomological Society of Basel (Entomologische Gesellschaft Basel, EGB), which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005 .
Geo-politically, the city of Basel functions as the capital of the
Swiss Half-canton of
Basel-Stadt , though several of its
Suburb s form part of the half-canton of
Basel-Landschaft or of the canton of
Aargau .
- Karl Barth , theologian
- Black Tiger , rapper
- Lucius Munatius Plancus , city founder
- Jacob Burckhardt , professor in history, theology, philosophy
- Jacob Bernoulli (1654–1705), Mathematician
- Johann Bernoulli (1667–1748), Mathematician
- Johann Bernoulli (1710–1790), Mathematician
- Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782) Mathematician
- Daniel Bernoulli (1936–?) Geologist
- Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Mathematician
- Arthur Cohn , film producer (won 6 Oscars )
- Jakob Emanuel Handmann (1718–1781), painter
- Dani Levy , film maker
- Beat Raaflaub , conductor
- -minu , columnist
- Roger Federer , tennis player
- Johann Peter Hebel , poet & author
Basel has a reputation in Switzerland as a successful sporting city. The
Soccer club
FC Basel continues to be successful and in recognition of this the city will be one of the venues for the
2008 European Championships , as well as
Geneva ,
Zürich and
Bern . The championships will be jointly hosted by
Switzerland and
Austria .
The largest indoor tennis event in Europe occurs in Basel every October. The best
ATP -Professionals play every year at the "Davidoff Swiss Indoors".
In
2002 , the World
Judo Championships took place in Basel.
Basel features a large soccer
Stadium , a modern
Ice Hockey hall and an admitted sports hall.
Basel has a reputation as one of the most important cultural cities in Europe. In . Host of this festival is the local
Basel Boys Choir .
The city is also known for "The Basel Elite", the posh and old money social circle that the city can more than cater to. Although Switzerland can technically have no nobility since such a status would depend on the country being a monarchy, which it is not, the Basel Elite would be the closest thing, and are represented as such by their familiarities with present-day nobilities from bordering countries. One such example is the DeBâle family of Allschwil, who have lived in the area for centuries, but have not acknowledged the nobility that has been bestowed upon them from actual monarchies.
The
Carnival of the city of Basel (''
Basler Fasnacht '') is a major cultural event in the year. The carnival is one of the biggest in Switzerland and attracts large crowds every year, despite the fact that it starts at four in the morning (''Morgestraich'') and lasts for exactly 72 hours, taking in various parades.
For more information see also
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''
Basler Zeitung '' is the local newspaper.
