 | Basel Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 194 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Miscellaneous Things To Do Tips | All Tips (194) The Town Hall of Basel simply breathtaking. The red facade dominates the Market Square.
The most parts of it were built 1504 - 14 and 1606 - 08 (Middle wing seen from the Market Square). 1898 - 1904 the left wing with the alcove and the tower were added - in the same style.
The stunning paintings on the facade are works of Hans Bock (1608 - 11, restored 1977). The clock was constructed by Master Wilhelm 1511 -12. In the vaulted entrance hall you can see paintings depicting stories of the jewish history (by Hans Bock again).
The yard fascinates again with painting by Hans Bock, restored 1978 - 83 (e.g. the gods Hermes and Diana, Prometheus waiting for the eagle etc.) Very impressive is the figure of Munatius Plancus (the Roman founder of Augst and Basel) on the foot of the staircase (1574).
I was very fortunate to have a friend in Basel who made the guide for a tour of the rooms in the town hall. For example I was able to see the magnificent government hall (16th century) with excellent stained glass windows, wooden panels and a stunning wood-carved ceiling. He also showed me the huge parliament hall (around 1900) which was fascinating.
Finally he got the key for the tower, we climbed up and enjoyed the fantastic views of the city. Leave a Comment Directions: Market square, right in the centre of the old town.
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The Kunstmuseum (Art Museum) is home of the largest public art collection in Switzerland. With its highlights of medieval pictures of Upper Rhine region and Dutch painters and works of the 19th/20th century it ranks among the most important museums worldwide.
Large parts of the old pictures go back to the 16th century and the collection of Basilius Amerbach, whose father was friend with Hans Holbein and Erasmus of Rotterdam. In 1661 the city of Basel bought his collection of pictures - the so called "Amerbach Kabinett" became the first public museum of Europe. Nowadays the museum's home is an impressive modern building (1932 - 36). In the yard you can see Auguste Rodin's sculpture "The citizens of Calais".
Highlights of the collection are the medieval pictures by Konrad Witz, Hans Baldung Grien, Lucas Cranach T. E., Hans Holbein etc. One of my personal favourites is Arnold Böcklin. The collection of 20th century pictures is another highlight: Picasso, Braque, Gris, Leger, Warhol, Tinguely, Beuys etc.
I was very fortunate to see the Schwitters/Arp exhibit as well for free. This exhibition is devoted to the work, the development and the dialogue of Hans Arp and Kurt Schwitters, two extraordinary geniuses. The 150 collages, reliefs, assemblages, paintings and sculptures on show cover the period from Arp’s early Dada creations to his last works of the 1960s, and from Schwitters’ first collages to sculptures and pictures dating from 1947, shortly before his death. Audio guides were available. In the entrance hall there are seats equipped with recordings of Schwitters and Arp reciting their own poems, musical contributions and a modern recording of Schwitters’ greatest literary work, the Ursonata. An unique exhibit, a must see if you are in the area, closing 22 August 2004
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 10 - 17 h Leave a Comment Address: St. Alban Graben 16Website: www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch
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 | |  |  | The Middle Bridge (Mittlere Brücke) | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
The Middle Bridge is exactly that.
There are different Bridges in Basel over the Rhine, Middle Bridge is the most Central one.
The first version was built 1226. That bridge was made half of wood, half of stone (the stone half on the side of the bigger Basel).
Later it became quite important as it was one of the few ways to cross the Rhine and was lying on different trade routes.
The smaller Basel was actually built as a "bridge head", to protect the important bridge against attacks from germany.
Up until today that bridge would be an important defense point, and as far as I know there is still explosives built into it - just in case...
1905 the bridge as it stands today was built. The Käppeli (chapel) in the middle reminds of the old bridge.
As one might notice, that bridge is quite "clean". The stone it was made of had to be washed. That is also quite a story.
On one April 1st (fools day) a radio station made a joke, saying, that the gouvernment has decided to paint the Middle Bridge white. That was quite an uproar (for nothing, since it was only a joke). But because they really did paint part of the bridge white in the night, they had to clean it off ... and realized that this was not so easy. In the end that piece looked a lot different from the rest, so they were forced to clean the whole bridge. Leave a Comment
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on June 3, 2004
on July 26, 2004
