Editing Basel (section)

== History ==
{{For timeline}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Theater Kaiseraugst.jpg|thumb|The [[Roman theatre (structure)|Roman theatre]] in Augusta Raurica, one of the most important Roman archaeological sites in Switzerland]]
There are traces of a settlement at the nearby [[Rhine knee]] from the early [[La Tène period]] (5th century BC). In the 2nd century BC, there was a village of the [[Raurici]] at the site of ''Basel-Gasfabrik'' (to the northwest of the Old City, and likely identical with the town of ''Arialbinnum'' that was mentioned on the ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'').<ref>René Teuteberg: ''Basler Geschichte'', p. 49.</ref> The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an ''[[Basel oppidum|oppidum]]'' on the site of [[Basel Minster]], probably in reaction to the [[Gallic War|Roman invasion of Gaul]].

In [[Roman Gaul]], [[Augusta Raurica]] was established some {{convert|20|km|abbr=on}} from Basel as the regional administrative centre, while a ''[[castra|castrum]]'' (fortified camp) was built on the site of the [[Celtic nations|Celtic]] ''[[oppidum]]''. In AD 83, the area was incorporated into the [[Roman province]] of [[Germania Superior]]. The [[Roman Senate|Roman Senator]] [[Lucius Munatius Plancus|Munatius Plancus]] is known as the traditional founder of Basel since the Renaissance.<ref name="Werthmüller-2013">{{Cite book |last=Werthmüller |first=Hans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18OeBgAAQBAJ |title=Tausend Jahre Literatur in Basel |date=2013-12-11 |publisher=Springer-Verlag |isbn=978-3-0348-6561-6 |pages=31 |language=de}}</ref> Roman control over the area deteriorated in the 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the ''[[Provincia Maxima Sequanorum]]'' formed by [[Diocletian]]. ''[[Basel oppidum|Basilia]]'' is first named by the [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] in his Res Gestae<ref name="Werthmüller-2013" /> as part of the Roman military fortifications along the Rhine in the late 4th century.

The Germanic confederation of the [[Alemanni]] attempted to cross the Rhine several times in the 4th century, but were repelled; one such event was the [[Battle of Solicinium]] (368). However, in the great invasion of AD 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine a final time, conquering and then settling what is today [[Alsace]] and a large part of the [[Swiss Plateau]].

The [[Duchy of Alemannia]] fell under [[Francia|Frankish]] rule in the 6th century. The Alemannic and [[Franks|Frankish]] settlement of Basel gradually grew around the old Roman castle in the 6th and 7th century. It appears that Basel surpassed the ancient regional capital of [[Augusta Raurica]] by the 7th century; based on the evidence of a gold ''[[tremissis]]'' (a small gold coin with the value of a third of a ''[[solidus (coin)|solidus]]'') with the inscription ''Basilia fit'', Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmb.ch/en/collection/object/basel-kopie-vom-gold-triens-des-muenzmeisters-gunso-anfangs-7-jh-vs.html |title=Basel. Kopie vom Gold-Triens des Münzmeisters Gunso, Anfangs 7. Jh., Vs. – HMB |date=7 February 2018 |access-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118094348/http://www.hmb.ch/en/collection/object/basel-kopie-vom-gold-triens-des-muenzmeisters-gunso-anfangs-7-jh-vs.html |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Basel at this time was part of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Besançon|Archdiocese of Besançon]]. A separate [[bishopric of Basel]], replacing the ancient bishopric of [[Augusta Raurica]], was established in the 8th century. Under bishop [[Haito]] (r. 806–823), the first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle<ref>{{Cite web |title=Views of pre-medieval Basel |url=https://www.unibas.ch/en/News-Events/Uni-Nova/Uni-Nova-124/Uni-Nova-124-Views-of-pre-medieval-Basel.html |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=www.unibas.ch |language=en |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517140933/https://www.unibas.ch/en/News-Events/Uni-Nova/Uni-Nova-124/Uni-Nova-124-Views-of-pre-medieval-Basel.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> (replaced by a Romanesque structure consecrated in 1019).

At the partition of the [[Carolingian Empire]] through the [[Treaty of Verdun]] in 843, Basel was first given to [[West Francia]] and became its German exclave.<ref name="Werthmüller-2013" /> It passed to [[East Francia]] with the [[Treaty of Meerssen]] of 870. Basel was destroyed by the [[Magyar invasion|Magyars]] in 917.<ref name="Werthmüller-2013" /> The rebuilt town became part of [[Upper Burgundy]], and as such was incorporated into the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1032.

=== Prince-Bishopric of Basel ===
{{main|Prince-Bishopric of Basel }}
[[File:Basler - Basler Münster Westfassade.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Basel Minster]], built between 1019 and 1500]]
[[File:Basler Fasnacht Cortège 2025-17.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Münsterplatz during [[Basler Fasnacht]]]]
From the donation by [[Rudolph III of Burgundy]]{{sfnb|Wood|2006|pp=285–286, 313}} of the [[Moutier-Grandval Abbey]] and all its possessions to Bishop [[Adalbero II of Metz]] in 999 until the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], Basel was ruled by [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel|Prince-Bishop]]s.<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 1993, p.659</ref>

In 1019, the construction of the [[Basel Minster|cathedral of Basel]] (known locally as the ''Münster'') began under [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref>Franz Kugler, ''[[Kleine Schriften]] und Studien zur Kunstgeschichte'', 1853, p. 486</ref>

In the 11th to 12th century, Basel gradually acquired the characteristics of a medieval [[city]].
The main market place is first mentioned in 1091. The first city walls were constructed around 1100 (with improvements made in the mid-13th and in the late 14th century). A city council of nobles and burghers is recorded for 1185, and the first [[mayor]], Heinrich Steinlin of Murbach, for 1253. The first bridge across the Rhine was built in 1225 under bishop [[Heinrich von Thun]] (at the location of the modern [[Middle Bridge, Basel|Middle Bridge]]), and from this time the settlement of ''Kleinbasel'' gradually formed around the bridgehead on the far river bank. The bridge was largely funded by Basel's Jewish community who had settled there a century earlier.<ref name="habicht">Habicht, Peter, ''Basel – A Center at the Fringe'' (Basel: Christoph Merian Verlag, 2006) pp. 43, 55, 70, 79.</ref> For many centuries{{dubious|date=July 2020}} to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river "between [[Lake Constance]] and the sea". The first city [[guild]] were the  [[furriers]], established in 1226. A total of about fifteen guilds were established in the course of the 13th century, reflecting the increasing economic prosperity of the city.<ref name="habicht"/> The [[Crusade of 1267]] set out from Basel.

Political conflicts between the bishops and the burghers began in the mid-13th century and continued throughout the 14th century. By the late 14th century, the city was for all practical purposes independent although it continued to nominally pledge fealty to the bishops. The [[House of Habsburg]] attempted to gain control over the city. This was not successful, but it caused a political split among the burghers of Basel into a pro-Habsburg faction, known as ''Sterner'', and an anti-Habsburg faction, the ''Psitticher''.
 
The [[Black Death]] reached Basel in 1348. The [[Persecution of Jews during the Black Death|Jews were blamed]], and an estimated 50 to 70 Jews were executed by burning on 16 January 1349 in what has become known as the [[Basel massacre]].<ref name="habicht"/> The [[1356 Basel earthquake|Basel earthquake of 1356]] destroyed much of the city along with a [[Rötteln Castle|number of castles]] in the vicinity.

{{anchor|Böse Fasnacht}} A riot on 26 February 1376, known as ''Böse Fasnacht'', led to the killing of a number of men of [[Leopold III, Duke of Austria]]. This was seen as a serious [[breach of the peace]], and the city council blamed "foreign ruffians" for this and executed twelve alleged perpetrators. Leopold nevertheless had the city placed under [[imperial ban]], and in a treaty of 9 July, Basel was given a heavy fine and was placed under Habsburg control. To free itself from Habsburg hegemony, Basel joined the [[Swabian League of Cities]] in 1385, and many knights of the pro-Habsburg faction, along with duke Leopold himself, were killed in the [[Battle of Sempach]] the following year. A formal treaty with Habsburg was made in 1393.

Basel had gained its de facto independence from both the bishop and from the Habsburgs and was free to pursue its own policy of territorial expansion, beginning around 1400.

{{anchor|Baselstab}}{{anchor|coat of arms}}
The unique representation of a bishops' [[crozier]] as the heraldic charge in the [[coat of arms of Basel]] first appears in the form of a gilded wooden staff in the 12th century. It is of unknown origin or significance (beyond its obvious status of bishop's crozier), but it is assumed to have represented a relic, possibly attributed to [[Germanus of Granfelden|Saint Germanus of Granfelden]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.staatskanzlei.bs.ch/kommunikation/baselstab.html |title=staatskanzlei.bs.ch |access-date=23 July 2020 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715223344/https://www.staatskanzlei.bs.ch/kommunikation/baselstab.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> This staff (known as ''Baselstab'') became a symbol representing the Basel diocese, depicted in bishops' seals of the late medieval period. It is represented in a heraldic context in the early 14th century, not yet as a heraldic charge but as a kind of heraldic achievement flanked by the heraldic shields of the bishop. The staff is also represented in the bishops's seals of the period. The use of the ''Baselstab'' in black as the coat of arms of the city was introduced in 1385. From this time, the ''Baselstab'' in red represented the bishop, and the same charge in black represented the city. The [[blazon]] of the municipal coat of arms is ''In Silber ein schwarzer Baselstab'' (Argent, a staff of Basel sable).<ref>[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ch-bs001.html Flags of the World.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021133543/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ch-bs001.html |date=21 October 2012 }} accessed 18-April-2011</ref> In 1400, Basel was able to purchase the towns of [[Liestal]], [[Homburg, Switzerland|Homburg]] and [[Waldenburg, Switzerland|Waldenburg]] with its surrounding territory.<ref name="Landolt-1998">{{Cite book |last=Landolt |first=Niklaus |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4282474 |title=Wettstein – die Schweiz und Europa 1648 |date=1998 |publisher=Christoph Merian Verlag |isbn=978-3-85616-098-2 |editor-last=Meles |editor-first=Brigitte |location=Basel |pages=46 |language=de |editor-last2=Historisches Museum Basel}}</ref>

[[File:Nuremberg chronicles - BASILEA.png|thumb|right|1493 woodcut of Basel, from the [[Nuremberg Chronicle]]]]
In 1412 (or earlier), the well-known [[Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen]] was established. Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th century [[Council of Basel]] (1431–1449), including the 1439 election of [[antipope Felix V]]. In 1459, [[Pope Pius II]] endowed the [[University of Basel]], where such notables as [[Erasmus of Rotterdam]] and [[Paracelsus]] later taught. At the same time the new craft of [[printing press|printing]] was [[Global spread of the printing press#Switzerland|introduced to Basel]] by apprentices of [[Johann Gutenberg]]. In 1461, the land around [[Farnsburg Castle|Farnsburg]] became a part of Basel.<ref name="Landolt-1998" />

The [[Schwabe publishing house]] was founded in 1488 by [[Johannes Petri (printer)|Johannes Petri]] and is the oldest publishing house still in business. [[Johann Froben]] also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by Erasmus.<ref>Josef Nadler, ''Literaturgeschichte der deutschen Schweiz'', Grethlein 1932</ref> In 1495, Basel was incorporated into the [[Upper Rhenish Circle|Upper Rhenish Imperial Circle]]; the Bishop of Basel was added to the Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes of the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]]. In 1500 the construction of the [[Basel Münster]] was finished.

=== As a member state in the Swiss Confederacy ===
{{main|Canton of Basel}}
[[File:Merian Basel 1642.jpg|thumb|Map of Basel in 1642, [[Engraving|engraved]] by [[Matthäus Merian]], oriented with SW at the top and NE at the bottom]]
The city had remained neutral through the [[Swabian War]] of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The [[Treaty of Basel (1499)|Treaty of Basel]] ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland ''de facto'' from the Holy Roman Empire.<ref name="Rappard">Rappard, William, ''Collective Security in Swiss Experience 1291–1948'' (London, 1948) p. 85 ff</ref>

On 9 June 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its [[Canton of Basel|eleventh canton]].<ref>Karl Strupp, ''Wörterbuch Des Völkerrechts'', De Gruyter 1960, p.225</ref> It was the only canton that was asked to join, not the other way round. Basel had a strategic location, good relations with [[Strasbourg]] and [[Mulhouse]], and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among the other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation.<ref name=autogenerated1>Habicht, Peter, ''Basel – A Center at the Fringe'' (Basel 2006) p. 65 ff</ref><ref name="Bonjour">Bonjour, Edgar ''et al.'' ''A short History of Switzerland'' (Oxford, 1952) p. 139 ff</ref>

In 1503, the new bishop [[Christoph von Utenheim]] refused to give Basel a new constitution; whereupon, to show its power, the city began to build a new city hall.<ref name="habicht"/>

In 1529, the city became Protestant under [[Johannes Oecolampadius|Oecolampadius]] and the bishop's seat was moved to [[Porrentruy]]. The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms. For centuries to come, a handful of wealthy families collectively referred to as the [[Daig (Switzerland)|"Daig"]] played a pivotal role in city affairs as they gradually established themselves as a ''de facto'' [[Aristocracy|city aristocracy]].

The first edition of ''Christianae religionis institutio'' (''[[Institutes of the Christian Religion]]'' – [[John Calvin]]'s great exposition of [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536.<ref>Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, Harold Fullard, Henry Clifford Darby, Charles Loch Mowat, ''[[The New Cambridge Modern History]]'', 1990, p. 113</ref>

In 1544, Johann von Brugge, a rich Dutch Protestant refugee, was given citizenship and lived respectably until his death in 1556, then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist [[David Joris]].<ref name="habicht"/>

In 1543, ''[[De humani corporis fabrica]]'', the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by [[Andreas Vesalius]] (1514–1564).<ref>''The Illustrations from the Works of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels'', Courier Dover Publications 1973, p.30</ref>

There are indications [[Joachim Meyer]], author of the influential 16th-century [[martial arts]] text ''Kunst des Fechten'' ("The Art of Fencing"), came from Basel. In 1661 the ''[[Amerbach Cabinet|Amerbaschsches Kabinett]],'' a vast collection of exotic artifacts, coins, medals and books was purchased by Basel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Braungart |first=Wolfgang |date=1988 |title=Kunst-Besitzindividualismus : das Amerbachsche Kunstkabinett und die Entstehung der frühneuzeitlichen Kunstkammer |url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=kas-001:1988:39::568 |journal=Unsere Kunstdenkmäler: Mitteilungsblatt für die Mitglieder der Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte |issue=39 |pages=293–295, 298 |via=E-Periodica}}</ref> It was to become to the first public museum of art.<ref>Braungart, Wolfgang (1988). p.298</ref> Its collection became the core of the later [[Kunstmuseum Basel|Basel Museum of Art]].

The Bernoulli family, which included important 17th- and 18th-century mathematicians such as [[Jakob Bernoulli]], [[Johann Bernoulli]] and [[Daniel Bernoulli]], were from Basel. The 18th-century mathematician [[Leonhard Euler]] was born in Basel and studied under Johann Bernoulli.

=== Modern history ===
In 1792, the [[Rauracian Republic|Republic of Rauracia]], a revolutionary [[French client republic]], was created. It lasted until 1793.<ref>Heinrich Zschokke, Emil Zschokke, ''The History of Switzerland, for the Swiss People'', S. Low, Son & Co. 1855, p.253</ref> After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of [[Basel-Landschaft]].<ref>Heinrich Türler, Marcel Godet, Victor Attinger, ''Historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Schweiz'', 1934, p.307</ref> Between 1861 and 1878 the city walls were [[Slighting|slighted]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appenzeller |first=Stephan |title=Basel und sein Tram |publisher=Christoph Merian Verlag |year=1995 |isbn=3856160639 |location=Basel |pages=12 |language=de}}</ref>

On 3 July 1874, Switzerland's first zoo, the [[Zoo Basel]], opened its doors in the south of the city towards [[Binningen, Switzerland|Binningen]].
[[File:THEODOR HERZL ADDRESSING THE FIRST OR SECOND ZIONIST CONGRESS IN BASEL, SWITZERLAND IN 1897-8. תאודור הרצל נואם בקונגרס הציוני הראשון או השני בבזל - שנת 1897-1898.jpg|thumb|First [[World Zionist Congress]] in Basel, 1897 (Stadtcasino)]]
In 1897 the first [[World Zionist Congress]] was held in Basel. Altogether the World Zionist Congress was held in Basel ten times, more than in any other city in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Erster Zionistenkongress 1897 – Die Idee eines Judenstaates |url=http://www.domradio.de/radio/sendungen/anno-domini/die-idee-eines-judenstaates-erster-zionistenkongress-1897 |date=31 August 2015 |author=Ina Rottscheidt |publisher=domradio.de |location=Cologne, Germany |language=de |access-date=6 September 2015 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923225551/http://www.domradio.de/radio/sendungen/anno-domini/die-idee-eines-judenstaates-erster-zionistenkongress-1897 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 16 November 1938, the psychedelic drug [[LSD]] was first synthesized by Swiss chemist [[Albert Hofmann]] at [[Sandoz]] Laboratories in Basel.

In 1967, the population of [[1967 Basel Picasso paintings purchase referendum|Basel voted in favor of buying three works of art by painter Pablo Picasso]] which were at risk of being sold and taken out of the local museum of art, due to a financial crisis on the part of the owner's family. Therefore, Basel became the first city in the world where the population of a political community democratically decided to acquire works of art for a public institution. [[Pablo Picasso]] was so moved by the gesture that he subsequently gifted the city with an additional three paintings.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.srf.ch/kultur/kunst/legendaerer-volksentscheid-das-picasso-wunder-von-basel| title = Legendärer Volksentscheid – Das Picasso-Wunder von Basel – Kultur – SRF| date = 16 March 2013}}</ref>

=== Basel as a historical, international meeting place ===
[[File:Herrliberger_Basel.jpg|left|Image of Basel in the''Topographie der Eidgenossenschaft'' (Topography of the [Swiss] Confederation) from 1761|thumb]]
Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The [[Treaty of Basel (1499)]] ended the [[Swabian War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lay |first=Paul |date=1999-09-09 |title=The Treaty of Basel: An end to the Swabian War was reached on 22 September 1499. |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/treaty-basel |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=History Today Ltd. |archive-date=16 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516173654/https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/treaty-basel |url-status=live }}</ref> Two years later Basel joined the [[Switzerland|Swiss Confederation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Livingston |first=Mark |date=2001 |title=Basel celebrates joining the Swiss Confederation |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/basel-celebrates-joining-the-swiss-confederation/2130988 |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch}}</ref> The [[Peace of Basel]] in 1795 between the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] and Prussia and Spain ended the [[First Coalition]] against France during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pagán |first=Carmen E. |date=2023-04-27 |title=Prussia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Prussia |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |archive-date=8 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508092225/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/480893/Prussia |url-status=live }}</ref> In more recent times, the [[World Zionist Organization]] held its first congress in Basel from 29 August through 31 August 1897. Because of the [[Balkan Wars]], the (Socialist) [[Second International]] held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tosstorff |first=Reiner |title=The Cambridge History of Socialism |date=2022-11-03 |chapter=The Second International Reconstituted: The Labour and Socialist International, 1923–1940 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-socialism/second-international-reconstituted-the-labour-and-socialist-international-19231940/96C5CA2C8F464D10DDCF672EC01AB279 |website=2023-06-16|pages=300–320 |doi=10.1017/9781108611107.016 |isbn=9781108611107 }}</ref> In 1989, the [[Basel Convention]] was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of [[hazardous waste]] from wealthy to [[developing country|developing nations]] for disposal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Secretariat of the Basel Convention |title=Convention Overview |url=https://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/1271/Default.aspx |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Basel Convention}}</ref>