The Village and Wood of Allschwil

22 April 2025

One of Switzerland’s peculiarities is the omnipresence of nature, whether in a (big) city or a small village—one example is Allschwil (canton Basel-Landschaft), which borders the city of Basel (canton Basel-Stadt).

The village of Allschwil, called Almswilre in the Middle Ages, was mentioned for the first time in a document in 1033. It belonged to the Duchy of Alsace. In the eleventh century, the prince-bishop of Basel became the new Lord.

In 1525, Allschwil signed a defensive treaty (Schirmvogtei) with the city of Basel but remained part of the prince-bishopric of Basel.

Although the Eidgenossenschaft (except Graubündnen, Graubündner Wirren 1618-1639) was not a battlefield in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), Swedish troops plundered Allschwil in 1634.

In 1792, revolutionary France assigned the villages to the short-lived Rauracian Republic, from 1793 to the department Mont-Terrible, and from 1800 to 1813 to the department Haut-Rhin.

Die alte Dorfkirche (former village church) St. Peter und Paul

Allschwil (and the entire Birseck) became 1815 part of the canton of Basel-Stadt, and after 1833 the canton of Basel-Landschaft.

(Source and further information: Gemeinde Allschwil)

The Wood of Allschwil (Allschwiler Wald)