The origins of Basel can be traced back to the 5th century BC when the Celts settled on the Rhine’s ‘knee’. The place name ‘Basilia’ was first registered in the year 374, and in 1460 the first university on Switzerland’s present territory was established. In 1501 Basel joined the Swiss Confederacy.
The beautiful Medieval Old Town district around the Münster Mount as well as on the Kleinbasel side of the Rhine has remained largely intact and unspoiled. The area still boasts a large number of churches, former monasteries and narrow alleyways. The area of the present Altstadt, which broadly corresponds to the town center, was once surrounded by a fortified town wall.
A tree-lined promenade along the Rhine in ‘Kleinbasel’ (see yesterday’s photograph) offers picturesque views of ‘Grossbasel’ and its historic town houses.