Basel

"Basle" and "Basilea" redirect here. For other uses, see Basle (disambiguation), Basilea (disambiguation), and Basel (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Basil.

Basel
Municipality
Rhine with Middle Bridge in background
Old building of the University of Basel (below)
Basel Minster
Roche Tower
Panorama with Rhine, Messeturm, Roche Tower, and Wettsteinbrücke
Flag of Basel
Flag
Coat of arms of Basel
Coat of arms
Location of Basel
Map
Basel is located in Switzerland
Basel
Basel
Basel is located in Canton of Basel-Stadt
Basel
Basel
Coordinates: 47°33′17″N 07°35′26″E / 47.55472°N 7.59056°E / 47.55472; 7.59056
CountrySwitzerland
CantonBasel-Stadt
Government
 • ExecutiveRegierungsrat
with 7 members
 • ParliamentGrosser Rat
with 100 members
Area
[1]
 • Total23.85 km2 (9.21 sq mi)
Elevation
(Barfüsserkirche)
261 m (856 ft)
Highest elevation
(Wasserturm Bruderholz)
366 m (1,201 ft)
Lowest elevation
(Rhine shore, national border at Kleinhüningen)
244.75 m (802.99 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2018)[2][3]
 • Total177,595
 • Density7,400/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
DemonymsGerman: Basler(in), French: Bâlois(e), Italian: Basilese
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
4000
SFOS number2701
ISO 3166 codeCH-BS
Surrounded byAllschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), Saint-Louis (FR-68), Weil am Rhein (DE-BW)
Websitewww.bs.ch
SFSO statistics
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Basel (/ˈbɑːzəl/ BAH-zəl; German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ⓘ), also known as Basle,[note 1] is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the River Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine).[4] Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits.[5] The official language of Basel is Swiss Standard German and the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect.[6]

Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland[7][8] and the city is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland, the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe.[9] Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe.[10]

The University of Basel, Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460),[11] and the city's centuries-long commitment to humanism, have made Basel a safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as Erasmus of Rotterdam,[12] the Holbein family, Friedrich Nietzsche,[13] Carl Jung, and in the 20th century also Hermann Hesse[14] and Karl Jaspers.[15]

Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501.[16] The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since the Renaissance,[17] and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century.[18] In 1897, Basel was chosen by Theodor Herzl as the location for the first World Zionist Congress, and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location.[19] The city is also home to the world headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements.[20] The name of the city is internationally known through institutions like the Basel Accords,[21] Art Basel[22] and FC Basel.[23]

Basel is Switzerland's main centre for the pharmaceutical industry, hosting both Novartis and Roche.[24]

In 2019 Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by Mercer.[25]

  1. ^ a b "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. ^ "MONATLICH AKTUALISIERTE ZAHLEN - KANTONALE STATISTIK". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  4. ^ City chief of staff. "Tri-national metropolitan region (TMO)". canton of Basel-Town. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  5. ^ World Population Review. "Population of Cities in Switzerland 2023". World Population Review. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  6. ^ Bideau, Nicolas. "Languages and dialects". Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Basel is Switzerland's Culture Capital; the Alps Have Art Worth Traveling for, Too. See Our City-and-Country Guide". 13 September 2021.
  8. ^ Kanton Basel-Stadt. "Cultural Capital of Switzerland". Kanton Basel-Stadt. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Unsere drei Häuser" (in German). Kunstmuseum Basel.
  10. ^ Haus des Sports. "About Basel". Swiss Fencing. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  11. ^ University of Basel. "History". University of Basel.
  12. ^ University of Basel. "History". University of Basel. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  13. ^ Burghartz, Georg; Kreis, Susanna. "Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)". Unigeschichte.unibas.ch – an online project on the history of the University of Basel, Department of History of the University of Basel. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  14. ^ Fischer-Zehnder, Eva. "C. G. Jung – Biografische Zeittafel". Psychologische Gesellschaft Basel. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  15. ^ Karl Jaspers-Foundation. "The move from Heidelberg to Basel". Karl Jaspers-Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  16. ^ The Swiss Spectator ®. "The Prince-Bishopric of Basel". The Swiss Spectator. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  17. ^ Dong, Xiang (25 October 2016). "Basel – a Swiss City Neighboring Germany and France". Dong World. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  18. ^ Schwan, Severin. "Science and the city". F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  19. ^ "City on the Rhine as centre of the Zionist movement". Swiss National Museum. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  20. ^ Bank for International Settlements Media and Public Relations team (16 December 2005). "Contact". Bank for International Settlements ("BIS"). Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  21. ^ Bank for International Settlements Media and Public Relations team (16 January 2001). "Basel II: The New Basel Capital Accord". Bank for International Settlements. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  22. ^ Horowitz, Noah. "The Business of Art Runs on ArtBase". Art Basel. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  23. ^ Swiss Football League (SFL). "KONTINGENTSLISTEN CSSL". Swiss Football League (SFL). Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Biotech companies wing their way to the Basel Area". Basel Area Business & Innovation. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Quality of Living City Ranking | Mercer". Archived from the original on 27 April 2023.


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