Editing Basel (section)

{{Short description|City in Switzerland}}
{{Redirect2|Basle|Basilea|4=Basle (disambiguation)|5=and|6=Basilea (disambiguation)||7=and|8=Basel (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Basil}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox Switzerland municipality
|subject_name      = Basel<br />{{small|Basle}}
|municipality_type = municipality, city, and canton
|image_photo       = {{Multiple image|
  | total_width            = 240
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 2/2/1
  | caption_align          = center
  | image1                 = One autumn morning in Basel v2.jpg
  | caption1               = [[Rhine]] with [[Middle Bridge, Basel|Middle Bridge]] in background
  | image2                 = 11-11-24-basel-by-ralfr-035.jpg
  | caption2               = Old building of the [[University of Basel]] (below)
  | image3                 = Basler - Basler Münster Westfassade.jpg
  | caption3               = [[Basel Minster]]
  | image4                 = Basel, de Roche Turm Bau 1+2 IMG 1617 2022-05-15 14.19.jpg
  | caption4               = [[Roche Tower]] and [[Roche Tower 2]]
  | image5                 = Basel - Münsterpanorama Juni 2019.jpg
  | caption5               = Panorama with Rhine, [[Basler Messeturm|Messeturm]], Roche Tower, and Wettsteinbrücke
 }}
|imagepath_flag    = Flag of Canton of Basel.svg
|imagepath_coa     = Wappen Basel-Stadt matt.svg
|pixel_coa         = 
|canton            = Basel-Stadt
|iso-code-region   = CH-BS
|district          = 
|coordinates       = {{coord|47|33|17|N|07|35|26|E|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code       = 4000
|municipality_code = 2701
|area              = 22.75
|elevation         = 261
|elevation_description = Barfüsserkirche
|highest           = Wasserturm Bruderholz
|highest_m         = 366 
|lowest            = [[Rhine]] shore, national border at Kleinhüningen
|lowest_m          = 244.75
|population        = 777,595 (city municipality), 830,000 (metropolitan area)
|mayor_asof        = January 2024
|mayor_party       = The Centre
|mayor_title       = 
|list_of_mayors    = List of presidents of the Executive Council of Basel
|executive_name    = [[#Government|Regierungsrat]]
|executive_number_of_members = 7
|parliament_name   = [[#Parliament|Grosser Rat]] 
|parliament_number_of_members = 100
|places            =
|demonyms           = {{langx|de|link=no|Basler(in)}}, {{langx|fr|link=no|Bâlois(e)}}, {{langx|it|Basilese}}, {{langx|rm|Basilean(a)}}
|neighboring_municipalities= [[Allschwil]] (BL), [[Hégenheim]] (FR-68), [[Binningen, Switzerland|Binningen]] (BL), [[Birsfelden]] (BL), [[Bottmingen]] (BL), [[Huningue]] (FR-68), [[Münchenstein]] (BL), [[Muttenz]] (BL), [[Reinach, Basel-Country|Reinach]] (BL), [[Riehen]] (BS), [[Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin|Saint-Louis]] (FR-68), [[Weil am Rhein]] (DE-BW)
|website           = www.bs.ch
}}

'''Basel''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑː|z|əl}} {{respell|BAH|zəl}}; {{IPA|de-CH|ˈbaːzl̩|lang|de-Basel.ogg|}}), also known as '''Basle''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ɑː|l}} {{respell|BAHL}}),<ref group="note">{{langx|fr|Bâle}} {{IPA|fr|bɑl|}}; {{langx|it|Basilea}} {{IPA|it|baziˈlɛːa|}}; {{langx|rm|label=[[Sutsilvan]]|Basileia}}; {{langx|rm|Basilea}} {{IPA|rm|baziˈleːɐ||roh-Basilea.ogg}}.</ref> is a city in northwestern [[Switzerland]] on the river [[Rhine]] (at the transition from the [[High Rhine|High]] to the [[Upper Rhine]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=City chief of staff |title=Tri-national metropolitan region (TMO) |url=https://www.marketing.bs.ch/en.html |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=canton of Basel-Town}}</ref> Basel is Switzerland's [[List of cities in Switzerland|third-most-populous]] city (after [[Zurich]] and [[Geneva]]), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits.<ref>{{Cite web |last=World Population Review |title=Population of Cities in Switzerland 2023 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cities/switzerland |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=World Population Review}}</ref> The official language of Basel is [[Swiss Standard German]] and the main spoken language is the local [[Basel German]] dialect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bideau |first=Nicolas |title=Languages and dialects |url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/gesellschaft/sprachen/sprachen-und-dialekte.html |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Federal Department of Foreign Affairs}}</ref>

Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/switzerland-travel-itinerary-netjets-2002391 | title=Basel is Switzerland's Culture Capital; the Alps Have Art Worth Traveling for, Too. See Our City-and-Country Guide | date=13 September 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kanton Basel-Stadt |title=Cultural Capital of Switzerland |url=https://www.bs.ch/System/impressum.html |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Kanton Basel-Stadt}}</ref> and the city is famous for its many [[Museums in Basel|museums]], including the [[Kunstmuseum Basel|Kunstmuseum]], which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of [[Swiss art|art in Switzerland]], the [[Fondation Beyeler]] (located in [[Riehen]]), the [[Museum Tinguely]] and the [[Museum of Contemporary Art (Basel)|Museum of Contemporary Art]], which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/de/museum/unsere-drei-haeuser| title = Unsere drei Häuser |publisher = Kunstmuseum Basel |language = de }}</ref> Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haus des Sports |title=About Basel |url=https://swiss-fencing.ch/escrime/lescrime-evenements/basel2024/# |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Swiss Fencing}}</ref> It is the hometown of the [[Art Basel]], world's most prestigious and influential international art fair, showcasing modern and contemporary works from leading galleries and attracting top collectors, artists, and enthusiasts globally.

The [[University of Basel]], Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460),<ref>{{Cite web |last=University of Basel |title=History |url=https://www.unibas.ch/en/University/About-University/History.html |website=University of Basel}}</ref> and the city's centuries-long commitment to [[humanism]], have made Basel a safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as [[Erasmus of Rotterdam]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=University of Basel |title=History |url=https://www.unibas.ch/en/University/About-University/History.html |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=University of Basel}}</ref> the [[Hans Holbein the Younger|Holbein]] family, [[Friedrich Nietzsche]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Burghartz|last2= Kreis |first2=Susanna|first1= Georg |title=Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) |url=https://unigeschichte.unibas.ch/fakultaeten-und-faecher/philhist-fakultaet/philosophie/friedrich-nietzsche |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Unigeschichte.unibas.ch – an online project on the history of the University of Basel, Department of History of the University of Basel}}</ref> [[Carl Jung]], and in the 20th century also [[Hermann Hesse]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer-Zehnder |first=Eva |title=C. G. Jung – Biografische Zeittafel |url=https://www.psychologische-gesellschaft-basel.ch/c.-g.-jung/biographie/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Psychologische Gesellschaft Basel}}</ref> and [[Karl Jaspers]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karl Jaspers-Foundation |title=The move from Heidelberg to Basel |url=https://jaspers-stiftung.ch/de/karl-jaspers/leben/leben |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Karl Jaspers-Foundation |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616204953/https://jaspers-stiftung.ch/de/karl-jaspers/leben/leben |url-status=live }}</ref>

Basel was the seat of a [[Prince-Bishopric of Basel|Prince-Bishopric]] starting in the 11th century, and joined the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]] in 1501.<ref>{{Cite web |last=The Swiss Spectator ® |title=The Prince-Bishopric of Basel |url=https://www.swiss-spectator.ch/the-prince-bishopric-of-basel/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=The Swiss Spectator}}</ref> The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since the [[Renaissance]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dong |first=Xiang |title=Basel – a Swiss City Neighboring Germany and France |url=https://www.dong.world/2016/10/basel/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Dong World |date=25 October 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616214348/https://www.dong.world/2016/10/basel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and has emerged as a centre for the [[Chemical industry|chemical]] and [[Pharmaceutical industry|pharmaceutical industries]] in the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwan |first=Severin |title=Science and the city |url=https://www.roche.com/stories/science-and-the-city-basel/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616215850/https://www.roche.com/stories/science-and-the-city-basel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1897, Basel was chosen by [[Theodor Herzl]] as the location for the first [[World Zionist Congress]], and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location.<ref>{{Cite web |title=City on the Rhine as centre of the Zionist movement |url=https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2022/08/city-on-the-rhine-as-centre-of-the-zionist-movement/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Swiss National Museum|date=29 August 2022 |last1=Heim |first1=Gabriel }}</ref> The city is also home to the world headquarters of the [[Bank for International Settlements]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bank for International Settlements Media and Public Relations team |title=Contact |url=https://www.bis.org/terms_conditions.htm#Copyright_and_Permissions |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Bank for International Settlements ("BIS") |date=16 December 2005 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606203453/https://www.bis.org/terms_conditions.htm#Copyright_and_Permissions |url-status=live }}</ref> The name of the city is internationally known through institutions like the [[Basel Accords]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bank for International Settlements Media and Public Relations team |date=2001-01-16 |title=Basel II: The New Basel Capital Accord |url=https://www.bis.org/publ/bcbsca02.htm |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Bank for International Settlements}}</ref> [[Art Basel]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Horowitz |first=Noah |title=The Business of Art Runs on ArtBase |url=https://www.artbase.com/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Art Basel |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616214345/https://www.artbase.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[FC Basel]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swiss Football League (SFL) |title=KONTINGENTSLISTEN CSSL |url=https://www.sfl-org.ch/themen/spielbetrieb/kontingentslisten/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Swiss Football League (SFL)}}</ref>

Basel is Switzerland's main centre for the pharmaceutical industry, hosting both [[Novartis]] and [[Roche]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biotech companies wing their way to the Basel Area |url=https://baselarea.swiss/blog-post/biotech-companies-wing-their-way-to-the-basel-area/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Basel Area Business & Innovation |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1938, the world-renowned chemist [[Albert Hofmann]] discovered [[LSD]] in Basel, where he spent most of his life. Other influential and renowned figures such as [[Roger Federer]], [[Paracelsus]], [[Matthäus Merian the Elder|Matthäus Merian]], [[Michel von Tell]] and [[Stephan Remmler]] are closely associated with the city or were born there. In 1734, the so-called '[[Basel problem|Basel Problem]]' was solved in the city, which is regarded as one of the most important achievements in mathematics.

Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by [[Mercer (consulting firm)|Mercer]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/quality-of-living-rankings| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230427234037/https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/quality-of-living-rankings| url-status = dead| archive-date = 2023-04-27| title = Quality of Living City Ranking {{!}} Mercer}}</ref>