The richly illustrated German-language book provides background knowledge about the more than 26,000 trees that are cared for by the city.
The city has kilometres of tree-lined streets along the Rhine and squares and has many parks for a medium-sized city.
Thirty special trees are also presented individually in words and pictures. The book is linked to an app and website via QR codes.
Helen Liebendörfer, Emanuel Trueb, Basel und seine Bäume, Basel, 2022
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) left his “Tribschen idyll” near Lucerne one hundred fifty years ago. He lived in Tribschen from 1866 to 1872 and has kept the most beautiful memories of this place. He worked intensively on his monumental “Ring of the Nibelung” and other world-famous compositions here.
The Richard Wagner Museum is devoting an entire weekend to his farewell and has assembled a varied programme.
Directed by Damiàn Dlaboha, the actor Manuel Kühne will read from letters and diaries of Richard Wagner, his relatives and friends. Pianists Tsovinar Suflyan and Andrea Wiesli will play works by Richard Wagner, his father-in-law Franz Liszt and contemporary Joachim Raff.
(Source and further Information: (richard-wagner-museum.ch).
It is perhaps hard to imagine, but even Canton Basel-Stadt has an agricultural and forestry area. The canton consists of three municipalities: the city of Basel and the municipalities of Bettingen and Riehen.
Most of the canton is an urban and industrial area on the left bank of the Rhine, apart from the city parks, the zoo, and trees along the Rhine. If you drive by car along the motorway and through the tunnels, you will see mainly the industrial side of the city.
The agricultural and forestry area is located on the right bank of the Rhine. Between the German towns of Lörrach and Weil am Rhein. East of the villages of Riehen and near Bettingen is the only mountain of the canton, the 522 m high Chrischona, and its many stone border posts of the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Canton of Basel from the period after the Congress of Vienna in the years 1814-1815. Forests and small meadows characterise this predominantly green area.
The Forestry and agriculture area is situated west of Riehen along the River Wiese. The river has its source in the Black Forest near the Feldberg (Baden-Württemberg) and flows into the Rhine at Kleinhüningen, a district of Basel.
From the Swiss-German border, the river flows 4.5 kilometres through the Wiese Landscape Park before passing 1.7 kilometres through the urban area of Basel. The 600-hectare park is a successful cross-border regional project involving the municipalities of Basel, Riehen, Lörrach, and Weil am Rhein. Forestry, drinking water supply, recreation, agriculture and nature protection go hand in hand with the Wiese as the flowing centre.
The forest has centuries-old (Californian) giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum), elms, oaks, beeches, maples, conifers, and diverse flora and fauna.
The Wiese was canalised at the beginning of the twentieth century to prevent the many floods. The canalised Wiese and its fish ladders look somewhat artificial, but more than 600 hectares of woods and meadows are on both sides of the river.
The Source of the Wiese
During the last long period of the Ice Ages (640,000 – 10,000 B.C.), the area was at the end of the Feldberg glacier. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the area was cultivated for both agricultural and industrial purposes. Mills, blacksmiths, textile laundries, paint and varnish factories, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries used the water and energy from the Wiese.
The source of the Wiese near Feldberg
(Source and further information: www.landschaftsparkwiese.info)
Other impressions from the Wiese Landscape Park
The area around the village of Hermance (canton of Geneva) was part of the domain of the kings of Upper Burgundy (888-1032) until around the year 1000. It passed into the hands of a local dynasty.
The 13th-century village is divided into an upper and a lower section (bourg d’en-bas). The “upper town (bourg d’en-haut) was built on a small eminence.
Although some parts of the ramparts have been preserved, the original town has disappeared. The “lower village” extended as far as the lake.
A large part of this medieval village remains. The town walls and houses can still be seen today. In some places, the walls were flanked by semi-circular towers. The castle and its donjon stood at the top of the hill. The donjon is the symbol of Hermance today.
The small town is on the frontier with France nowadays, but was part of the Duchy of Savoy, which was a part of the Kingdom of Piemonte-Sardegna until 1860.
(Source: swisscastles.ch)
Founded in the mid-13th century by Aymon II de Faucigny, Hermance (Canton of Geneva) is a village on the shores of Lake Geneva.
It has retained its medieval character and boasts several historical and cultural attractions. Its lakeside location and harbour offer recreational opportunities.
The River Hermance rises at the foot of the Voirons and flows into the lake. It is 14 kilometres long and has formed the (natural) border between Switzerland and France on the southern shore of the lake since 1861.
In 1815, following the decision of the Congress of Vienna, the border between the Duchy of Savoy (part of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia) and the Swiss Confederation remained unchanged. Since the annexation (by approval of the citizens of Savoy) of this duchy by France in 1861, it has been the border with France.
Saint-Gingolph (Canton of Valais) is the other border town on the southern shore of Lake Geneva. It has been the border since the Treaty of Thonon, signed on 4 March 1569.
The Hermance River ends its course in the lake between the villages of Hermance (Switzerland) and Chens-sur-Léman (France).
(Source and further information: www.hermance.ch)
The clock tower (Zeitglockenturm) is the oldest building in Solothurn. The tower was built as part of the castle at the beginning of the 13th century. It was first mentioned in 1408 under the name Zitglogge.
Under the roof in the middle of the tower, three symbols (knight, king and skeleton) show the meaning and transience of life at every hour.
The large astronomical clock from 1545 by Lorenz Liechti and Joachim Habrecht shows on its 24-hour dial the twelve hours of the day above and the twelve hours of the night below, the months and the year, and has a sundial, a moondial and the signs of the zodiac.
(Source and further information: Tourism Solothurn).
Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German, canton of Jura) was for a long time the seat of the bishop of Basel after he left his episcopal palace at the Münster in Basel during the Reformation in 1528.
The Bishop of Basel acquired this area in 999 by a gift of the (last) king of Burgundy, Rudolph III (977-1032). The king transferred the powerful abbey of Moutier-Grandval to the bishop. This abbey possessed the Ajoie and other territories in the Jura. The monastery was abandoned after the Reformation around 1530 and torn down to the last stone (Moutier and the Moutier-Grandval Abbey).
Porrentruy and Ajoie
Porrentruy is located in the Ajoie region, north of the River Doubs, on the edge of a plain in the Jura Mountains and a few kilometres from the French border. The large episcopal palace and castle on the hill, the Hôtel-Dieu, the 18th-century glacière, the chapter houses, and other grandeur bear witness to the centuries-long presence of this prince of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
The Prince Bishop and Bern
The bishop, also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, hence the title prince-bishop and prince-bishopric, remained in possession of Ajoie until the invasion of revolutionary France in 1792. Only the Count of Monbéliard was lord of this region for a few periods, in 1283 and 1386-1461.
The prince-bishop definitively lost the territory in 1792. Ajoie, together with other regions of the present-day canton of Jura, fell under the short-lived Rauracian Republic (November 1792-March 1793), the department of Mont-Terrible (1793-1800) and the department of Haut-Rhin (1800-1813) before being annexed to the canton of Berne by the decision of the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
Many old boundary stones in the forests mark the ancient border of the canton of Bern (with the Bear) or the Swiss Confederation (CS: Confédération Suisse) with France, marked with the French Fleur-de-lis or RF (République Française). Since 1979, the French-speaking canton of Jura has formed the border with France.
Dinosaurs, Glaciers, Sea and Prehistoric Park
Not only the bishop but also the dinosaurs, glaciers and sea are still visible. Some 20 million years ago, this region was situated on and under a subtropical sea. Further back in time, around 175 million years ago, the Jurassic was a favourite habitat of the dinosaurs. It was cold, approximately 20,000 years ago, with a polar climate characterised by glaciers hundreds of metres thick and wide.
The Prehistoric Park near the village of Réclère (Préhisto-Parc de Réclère) reconstructs the world of dinosaurs along a two-kilometre-long trail and features a documentation centre. There are 45 lifelike replicas of the first fish, reptiles, and dinosaurs on land, in the water, and in the air along the trail. The 1,500-metre-long caves and their stunning stalagmites and stalactites in this park were formed over a process lasting millions of years.
The church of Réclère is also home to a more recent work of art: the famous stained-glass windows by Wilfrid Moser (1914-1997).
Ajoie
The name Ajoie is derived from the little Allaine, which flows through Porrentruy and into the Doubs. Other names for this region are Le Pays de Porrentruy and, in German, Pruntruter Zipfel (formerly also called Elsgau).
Mountains up to almost 1,000 metres surround the plain of the Ajoie. The agricultural use of the area is characterised by fruit trees, cattle breeding and arable farming, including rape and grain.
The hiker passes several ancient villages, including Grandfontaine, above Réclère, Roche-d’Or, Rocourt, and Chevenez.
The Swiss Alpine Club
The Swiss Alpine Club, section Basel (www.sac-basel.ch) regularly organises hiking trips in this region (and elsewhere).
The SAC (www.sac-cas.ch) organises ski tours, mountaineering, and other sports in the high mountains and the Alps, as well as activities in different regions.
Ancient theatres
A theatre tradition was absent in the western provinces of the Roman Empire until August (emperor from 27 BC—14 AD). Stone theatres existed only in Greek settlements in Spain (Hispania) and southern France (Gallia Narbonensis).
Stone theatres were not built in Rome and the conquered western territories until the last phase of the Roman Republic (the period after 55 BC).
The theatre was a vital means of communication in Greece and played a significant political role in society.
Rome
The Senate banned stone theatres in the Roman Republic because they could be abused for political purposes. Wooden theatres were allowed because they were not permanent.
After all, the theatre was not just a place to perform a comedy or tragedy but primarily a meeting place for the elite and citizens.
Additionally, religion played an important role in the theatre. Processions, sacrifices, and other religious rituals were central to theatre performances, which lasted for days.
Aosta, the only roof-covered Roman theatre, is next to the amphitheatre.
The Republic
In the last decades of the Republic, theatrical performances and the size of wooden theatres, which could accommodate many thousands of spectators, surpassed each other in originality and cost. Generals and other high-ranking and wealthy citizens financed the spectacles.
Ideology, religion and propaganda went hand in hand. Against this background, the general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Pompey the Great (106 – 48 BCE), built the first stone theatre in Rome in 55 BCE, presented as a temple, as it was still formally forbidden.
And there was indeed a temple present, though dwarfed by its construction for tens of thousands of spectators.
His opponent, Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), did not leave it at that and began building a gigantic stone theatre in Rome, which, however, was not completed until 11 BC, under Emperor August, as the Marcellus theatre. In Spain, Lucius Cornelius Balbus (100-32 BC), an ally of Caesar, built a vast stone theatre at Gades (Cadiz) in 44. Chr.
Theatre Aventicum (Avenches)
Emperor Augustus
Under Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD), the stone theatre became an important ideological and political medium. He struggled to present his monarchy in Republican Rome without being referred to as a king.
After all, that had proved fatal to his adoptive father, Caesar, in 44 BC, August called himself princeps inter pares, hence the name Principate, but he could not hide the fact that there was, in fact, a monarchy, which was only called an empire after Augustus.
Theatre Augusta Raurica
Propaganda
Propaganda, the feeling of peace, security, and economic prosperity after decades of civil war, was also crucial for legitimising his power.
Not the letter of the (republican) law, which formally remained in place, but imperial ideology and the imperial cult were the de facto constitution.
The theatre became one of the empire’s mouthpieces and propaganda institutions. It was an essential means of communication, organised strictly hierarchically according to an established building concept.
The theatres, ideology, and communication
Rome’s theatres became the architectural benchmark for provincial towns and local elites, urbs pro maiestatae imperii ornata.
The local elites financed the theatres and performances, mirroring the building and cultural policies of the emperor, Rome, and its immediate surroundings. In this ideology, theatres were an essential means of communication between the emperor and his citizens in Rome, Italy, and distant provinces.
The political significance of the theatre stemmed from the omnipresent emperor’s cult, statues, and other images, as well as the fact that the performances took place in his name. The theatre was a political building. It was a medium for mass communication, with religion and self-representation of the elite and financiers playing a central role.
For this reason, Augustus introduced numerous new religious festivals and ceremonies, which were often expressed in the theatre through performances.
By closely linking religion and political ideology, Augustus created a new structure for loyalty to his person and regime in the profoundly religious ancient world.
This feature was the core of the imperial cult, expressed by priests. Augustus had appreciated the importance of theatre.
Amphitheatres
Amphitheatres did not arise until much later, at the end of the 1st century. The Colosseum in Rome (70 AD) is the best-known example. Due to its success in Rome, amphitheatres were constructed in the provinces during the 1st and 2nd centuries. Spectacles, wild animals and gladiators were the main events. However, like the theatre, it was a political institution that served as a platform for propaganda and communication with citizens.
Avenches (Aventicum), amphitheatre. Musée romain.
Political
Local elites had to copy Rome’s model and started financing and building stone theatres in their cities. They also organised festivals and ceremonies more than fifty days a year.
Stone theatres and performances were not only a favour of the emperor and the local elite but also a right of the people. The people expected public sponsorship from the elites. In the theatre, citizens’ political involvement led to participation in the performances by publicly expressing approval or disapproval of policies.
After all, Augustus had effectively established an absolute monarchy under the guise of a republican form of government, and the theatre was one of the lubricants that maintained this system.
Theatres in Switzerland
During the first and second centuries AD, several large stone theatres were constructed on Swiss territory, including those in Augst, Lausanne, Nyon, Lenzburg, and Avenches. Amphitheatres have also been discovered in Windisch, Avenches, Nyon, Augst, Kaiseraugst, and Martigny. The local elites paid for them and their maintenance, sometimes perhaps with the (financial) support of the emperor, his closest relations, and the manpower of the local legions.
Nothing is known about the performances, but propaganda and the imperial cult will also have been prominent in these theatres.
(Source: U. Pappalardo, Antique Theatre, Petersberg, 2007)
Deep blue lakes and sunny snow-capped peaks – with its landscape and unique light, the Engadine is one of the most spectacular (holiday) destinations and natural environments in the Alps.
The book presents the most important places and beautiful landscapes, from Sent to Sils, Corvatsch to Münstertal.
The Alpine passes, viaducts, valleys, mountains, lakes, villages and towns, rivers and streams, Engadine specialities, the Rhaeto-Romanic language, graffiti and architecture are only some topics discussed.
From the mundane Upper Engadine to the still rural Lower Engadine, the book offers fascinating insights into one of Switzerland’s most beautiful high-altitude valleys, if not Europe.
Angelika Overath, Gebrauchsanweisung für das Engadin, Munich, 2016
Nothing is forever, not even in Switzerland. The creation of the new canton of Jura in 1979, the choice of Moutier (canton of Bern) by referendum in 2021 to join the canton of Jura in 2026 or, for example, the mergers of municipalities.
Switzerland is also the outcome of centuries-long processes, as the new publication by François Walter (Text) and Marco Zanoli (Maps), Historischer Atlas der Schweiz (Zurich, 2021), shows. The canton of Basel also has a similar history.
Canton of Basel
The Canton of Basel became a member of the Eidgenossenschaft or Confederation in 1501. The city of Basel was the canton’s most important political and economic municipality. An oligarchy of guilds and merchants governed the town and the Landschaft.
After the Reformation of 1527-1528, the last aristocratic families left the town or were absorbed into the bourgeoisie. The bishop and his chapter left for Porrentruy (Pruntrut in today’s canton of Jura). The bishop was also a prince in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, hence the titles “prince-bishop” and “prince-bishopric.”
However, he retained his property and estates, which extended into Alsace, southern Germany, and the current cantons of Jura, Bern, Basel, and Basel-Landschaft. This situation ended during the French invasion in 1792-1798 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The end of French rule marked the beginning of restoring the ancien régime of the Basel oligarchy.
Town Hall (Rathaus)
However, the old days did not return to the canton of Basel. The towns, municipalities, and farming communities of the Landschaft no longer accept the political dominance of the urban oligarchy.
Economic and demographic changes created new realities. Firstly, almost twice as many people lived in the Landschaft as in Basel. Secondly, the Landschaft had become much more prosperous and self-confident since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, partly due to the flourishing textile industry.
The Landschaft’s population demanded more participation in political decision-making, which led to disagreement with the canton’s government, which, after 1815, was effectively back in the hands of the old ruling class that had been in power before 1798.
From 1830 onwards, the citizens of the Landschaft organised themselves, partly inspired by the uprising in Paris that year. A referendum showed a majority in favour of a split. However, the government did not accept this outcome.
It led to the period known as the “Basler Wirren” and armed interventions by the city of Basel’s militia. The inhabitants of the Landschaft adopted, following a referendum on 17 March 1732, a constitution for the new canton Basel-Landschaft (Baselbiet or Baselland)
Not all communes agreed, however. It was a complex situation. In fact, there was a kind of civil war within the Landschaft, as evidenced by a proclamation of 20 August 1831 from supporters of secession: “Jeder der zu Gunsten von Basel agiert oder Proklamationen verteilt, wird volgelfrei erklärt“.
The situation threatened to escalate with a new military expedition by Basel, which ended in defeat on August 3, 333. The Tagzatzung, the meeting of the cantons, then intervened. On 26 August 2633, a large majority decided to split the canton into the cantons Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. Liestal became the capital of the new canton and the seat of government and parliament (Landrat).
The new canton Basel-Stadt accepted the decision of the other cantons and adopted a new constitution on October 3833.
The unification of the two cantons and referendums
In 1863, the canton Basel-Landschaft (informally Baselbiet or Baselland) was one of the first cantons (except the cantons with a Landsgemeinde) to introduce direct democracy: the election of the government (Regierung) and the parliament (Landrat) by the citizens, the right to vote out a member of parliament at any time, the right of initiative (Initiative), and the obligatory referendum (obligatorisches Gesetzesreferendum) on new legislation.
One of the first referendums, held on 4 March 464, abolished the “Niemals Beschluss” of reunifying the two cantons. From 1900, there was indeed a strong movement in the two cantons to achieve reunification.
A 1936 referendum led to preparations for reunification. Then came the Second World War, and the momentum was lost. However, a new referendum in Basel-Landschaft in 1958 confirmed the majority’s wish to unify both cantons.
Two events thwarted this project: Basel-Landschaft experienced economic success in the 1960s. It was the most robustly growing canton, and this development reduced the inclination to merge with the relatively poorer canton of Basel-Stadt.
The second factor was the introduction of women’s suffrage in the canton in 1968. On 7 December 1969, women overwhelmingly voted against unification in the referendum for a unified canton of Basel.
A new era? Eric Nussbaumer (SP), canton Basel-Landschaft, President of the Federal Council in 2024 (third from left) Eva Herzog (SP), canton Basel-Stadt, President of the Council of States in 2024 (fourth from left), on 6 December 6ter their appointments. Beat Jans (SP), president of the canton’s government, fifth from left.
Cooperation and cantonal treaties
Although the cantons have been cooperating in many fields since this referendum, the citizens of Basel-Stadt rejected reunification in a new referendum in September 2014.
For example, the two cantons concluded agreements as sovereign republics regarding health care and education. Citizens in both cantons have the final say, however. The citizens of Basel-Stadt, for instance, rejected the merger of hospitals in a referendum, while the citizens of Basel-Landschaft voted in favour.
Even though the dates of Fasnacht differ, there has never been a referendum on this issue.
(Source: R. Teuteberg, Basler Geschichte, Basel 1988).
