Brief explorations of Switzerland’s third most populous city.
Located where France, Germany and Switzerland meet, Basel is the third largest city in Switzerland. It’s also extremely close to Alsace, so I decided to stop.
Basel is the “cultural capital” of Switzerland, known for its museums. My visit was a bit abbreviated due to visiting Augusta Rautica, an Ancient Roman city in the suburbs of modern Basel. I never ended up visiting a museum in Basel proper, but I did get to wander a bit in the rain.
Jana Irving Much of Basel is a mix of older cute buildings and modern gross ones.
Jana Irving Barfuesserkirche, now part of the Basel Historical Museum.
Jana Irving Neptun Brunnen (Neptune Fountain). Basel is like other Swiss cities with a ton of awesome fountains.
Jana Irving Barfuesserplatz.
Jana Irving I ate at that McDonald’s because I really needed a bathroom. I’ve never spent that much money at a McDonald’s ever. At least it was European McDonald’s and not the American version.
Jana Irving Cute older building stuck between two ugly ones. Such a shame.
Jana Irving A little Art Nouveau influence there.
Jana Irving Now for a bit of half-timber.
Jana Irving The Romanesque/Gothic Basler Münster, which was constructed from 1019 to 1500. It took so long because Basel had an earthquake in 1356. A lot of the church had to be rebuilt.
Jana Irving I love the colored design on the roof.
Jana Irving The outside of the church is pretty intricate if you look closely.
Jana Irving Some of the Romanesque church survives in the back. Hard to see here but there are figures carved all over the place.
Jana Irving Close but not quite there.
Jana Irving A pretty typical Gothic church on the inside. However, it was a great place to take a break from the rain.
Jana Irving Several tombs with effigies lined the exterior walls. Here we have the effigy of Knight Kurkart V Massmünster, died 1386.
Jana Irving The circular apse from above is super cool on the inside.
Jana Irving I have no idea what is going on in that carving.
Jana Irving Tombs back here, too. Tomb of Queen Gertrude Anne of Hohenberg (died 1281), wife of King Rudolf, Holy Roman Emperor. She was entombed next to her son, Karl. Their bodies were removed in 1770 and buried elsewhere.
Jana Irving That’s quite a pulpit.
Jana Irving There’s a cloister still attached to the church.
Jana Irving It’s a double cloister with this outdoor room joining them.
Jana Irving Cloister with a view.
Jana Irving Other buildings around Münsterplatz.
Jana Irving I really liked this area of the city.
Jana Irving I always do love a pedestrian only area.
Jana Irving Another fountain on the left, Augustiner Brunnen (Augustine Fountain). It has a weird dragon on the top with some strong chicken features.
Jana Irving Very cute.
Jana Irving Another fountain on the right, Sevogel Brunnen. There are at least three I had already seen by this point I haven’t shared.
Jana Irving A very posh building.
Jana Irving I found a bit more half-timbered buildings.
Jana Irving Views of Basel from the Mittlere Brücke.
Jana Irving This fountain is a little more subdued than the other ones.
Jana Irving Gorgeous.
Jana Irving Cute!
Jana Irving Spalentor, a 15th century city gate.
Jana Irving Next to the Spalentor is the University of Basel Botanical Garden, which is free to explore.
Jana Irving A view of the city side of Spalentor and another fountain.
Jana Irving Parts of the city center sure are cute.
Jana Irving The 16th century Rathaus (city hall).
Jana Irving A lot going on in the courtyard decorations.
Basel was a pretty neat city. The historic center is cute and it has a ton of museums. There is plenty to see in this Swiss city.
Check out my next update where I explore the Swiss city of Lucerne!
or
Start at the beginning of this European adventure!
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