| Page Views: 1,247 Last Visit to Basel: August, 2000 | Basel by Bjorgvin - last update: Jul 31, 2003 |
Basel (Basle, Fr. Bâle) lies along the Rhine, at the mouths of the Birs and Wiese rivers, where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet, at the entrance to the Swiss Rhineland. It was originally a Celtic settlement, but later a Roman fortification (Basilia). At the beginning of the 5th century Basel became a bishop’s seat. The first university in Switzerland was founded there in 1460, and in 1501 Basel was admitted into the Swiss Confederation. The city became a centre of humanism and of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. The famous Dutch scholar and humanist Erasmus Rotterdamus was a teacher at the university (1521-29), and he is entombed in Basel. Rhine divides the city into two parts. Kleinbasel, to the north, is the port (constructed at the turn of the twentieth century and still handling a large portion of Swiss import/export trade) and industrial section. On the south bank is Grossbasel, the older commercial and cultural centre.
http://www.baseltourismus.ch
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 Comments for Bjorgvin about Basel | | | | |
JudyinPA Wed Jan 29, 2003 17:58 UTC
Very nice information. My favorite country | bebop88 Mon Jun 3, 2002 14:09 UTC
Nice page, very good intro | nighthawk Wed May 15, 2002 11:25 UTC
good tips! too bad we couldn t go there! | windoweb Wed Apr 24, 2002 12:02 UTC
Would like to see the Cathedral |
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