Editing Basel (section)

=== 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.