The corridor Rotterdam-Basel-Genua and the Swiss Rhine Ports
21 April 2025
The first large Rhine ship arrived in Basel in 1904. The Rhine port of St. Johann was expanded in 1906 and dissolved in 2011. A second Basel Rhine port was built in Kleinhüningen between 1919 and 1942.
Basel, Schifflände, a medieval and contemporary landing place for ships. Coat of arms plaque from the Rheinlagerhaus (1682, now Restaurant Banks) at the Schifflände
The ports of Auhafen in Muttenz and Birsfelden (Canton Basel-Landschaft) were built between 1937 and 1940. In 2008, the ports of both cantons merged to form the Swiss Rhine Ports (Schweizerischen Rheinhäfen, SRH).
Port Basel-Kleinhüningen
Birsfelden
Auhafen Muttenz
These ports serve as the gateway to the world’s oceans and seas via Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Genoa (transported through the Gotthard tunnels).
Cologne. Photo: Guido Wasser, Basel
The Rhine in Basel
The Upper Rhine begins in Basel and was initially divided into numerous side arms. The regulation of the Upper Rhine from 1817 to 1876 forced the river into a single bed.
Le Grand Canal d’Alsace
Kembs
Vogelgrun
Breisach
Between 1928 and 1959, the ‘Grand Canal d’Alsace’, a 53 km-long canal, was constructed between Kembs and Breisach. Twelve power plants along the Rhine, between Rheinfelden and Karlsruhe, increase the river’s water depth, making it navigable throughout the year.
The Birsfelden lock has a vital function. The annual number of locks is over 10,000, including 6505 large ships (and some rowing boats!).
The SRH asserts itself in the regional, national, and international environment. Today, it forms the national transport hub on the Rotterdam-Basel-Genoa freight corridor. The SRH provides the infrastructure for transhipment activities and ensures that the port remains an attractive logistics location.
The three port sections of Kleinhüningen, Birsfelden, and Muttenz Auhafen handle 6 million tonnes of goods and over 100,000 containers annually, corresponding to around 10 per cent of all Swiss imports. The Rhine port terminals handle every third litre of mineral oil and every fourth container.
(Source and further information: Port of Switzerland)
Birsfelden power plant and its fish stair.
The Waal (the Rhine) in Nimwegen (Nijmegen)