0-Basler Guide 2017-1

BASEL 7
In bygone times
Even before our era, the Celts settled in Basel. The
strategic location drew the Romans to station their
armies on the Münster Hill in 30 B.C. After this,
events in the middle ages left their impression on
the city, in particular that of the Church Council
and the founding of Switzerland’s first university in
1460. In Erasmus of Rotterdam’s time, this city of
humanists was a centre of book printing and paper
production. The reformation then brought silk weaving
and dying, which preceded the pharmaceutical
and chemical companies.
Now
Today, this once fortified settlement is a centre for
life sciences, as well as for the chemical and pharmaceutical
industry, and also has important companies
in the logistics, transport and financial field. Additionally,
Basel is the most important location for
trade fairs and congresses in Switzerland, and, with
its almost 200,000 inhabitants, one of the cities
with the highest quality of life worldwide. In hardly
any other city do 15th century buildings complement
internationally renowned modern architecture to create
such a dynamic yet harmonious cityscape. The
narrow alleyways and hidden squares with over 190
fountains as well as the many century-old buildings
and eye-catching sights such as the City Hall or the
Cathedral combine to make Basel‘s Old Town one of
the most beautiful and intact of its kind in Europe.
Simultaneously, the city welcomes modernity with
open arms. As home of Herzog & de Meuron, Basel
has created a stir in the world of architecture. Numerous
other world-famous celebrities in this field
have enriched the city with their works, thus cementing
its reputation as a centre for contemporary
architecture. The city oscillates between the inheritance
of its history and the beat of the present.
Tradition and modernity are more than slogans here,
they are a living reality.
Facts and figures
Inhabitants: 198‘290 (January 2017)
Area: 37 km 2
Altitude:
260 m above sea level
Currency:
Swiss franc (CHF)
Language: German (Swiss German)
Average summer
temperature: 19.7 °C