A Grand Tour of Basel

BASEL, Switzerland—Too many visitors to Art Basel are so focused on the art, they hardly notice Basel itself. Lest the city become a mere scenic backdrop or blur between fair stops, ARTINFO took some time out to consider the intrinsic charms of Switzerland’s third-largest city.

With roots dating back to both a Celtic settlement in the first century B.C. and the more commonly cited Roman establishment in 44 B.C., Basel has a storied past that can be glimpsed through its landmarks. When the city joined the Swiss Confederation in 1501, the new government set about building a grand seat befitting its new status. The red brick arches of the city hall, constructed between 1504 and 1514, remain a commanding presence, both architecturally and legislatively. It fronts the Marktplatz, a central plaza where vendors sell bread, cheese, fruit, and flowers every day but Sunday.

From this valley thoroughfare, streets climb the two hills on either side. Martinsgasslein leads up to Martinskirche (St. Martin's Church), the city's oldest parish church, with sections of the lowest stories and facade dating back to 1287, and other parts rebuilt after the 1346 earthquake that nearly destroyed the town's wood houses.

Also built and rebuilt over centuries of porous sandstone that still requires renovations, Basel's cathedral, known as the Muenster, rises majestically from the top of the hill, with its iconic Gothic spires. The 12th-century Romanesque doorway known as the Galluspforte (Gallus Gate) is framed by a frieze of figures, the wise facing off against the foolish in a depiction of the Last Judgement. During the daytime, tourists can find solace in the tranquil cloister, its spiritual presence sometimes enhanced by the sounds of a practicing choir.

The view from alongside the cathedral and the Muensterplatz stretches beyond the neighboring borders of France and Germany, overlooking the bends of the River Rhine and encompassing the treetops of the Black Forest, as well as the steel towers of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries that play a major role in the local economy. 

The Gothic Andreaskapelle (Andreas Chapel) was demolished in the 18th century, but its contours are outlined in the stones that pave the Andreasplatz, where the craftsman of the Safran Guild once lived and worked. As employment grew, more stories were added to the buildings around the square, called "Medieval high-rises"—although their six flights hardly tower over the town today as they did then. The cafes here are popular meeting spots, and the scent of baking bread wafts from the old-fashioned wooden stoves of the Holzofenbackerei.

Radiating from the Andreasplatz are quaint streets named after the spice traders: Pfeffergasslein (Pepper Lane) and Imbergasslein (Ginger Lane). The mural-adorned townhouse at 31 Imbergasslein, formerly home to the area's first-known midwife, now hosts the smallest of Basel's many museums: the Hoosesagg Museeum ("hoosesagg" meaning "trouser-pocket"). A window set in the door displays changing exhibits of small items: This month it's piled with decorative tins; next up is colored sand gathered from sites around the world.

"People always stop to look at the house, and look into the windows and doors, so this disturbed us," explained the proprietor, Dagmar Vergeat. "We didn't want to put up a curtain, so I started showing my collections."

Indeed, visible through the first-floor windows are her toy cars and soldiers, cowbells, shot glasses, Russian dolls, tiny wool kittens from the 1920s, and all manner of knickknacks stacked from floor to ceiling. Eventually word of mouth spread, and others from in and outside Basel began offering up the fruits of their own obsessions for public viewing. Not quite Art Basel material, but an endearing reminder that collections come in all shapes and sizes.