The history of the bishopric of Basel (Basilia in Roman times) goes back to the Roman Empire. In the fifth century, the bishop moved from Augusta Raurica (Augst) to Basel, prompted by the invasions of Germanic tribes (Alamanni). The hill in Basel offered an excellent refuge and had some defensive walls.
The ancient palace of the bishop in Augusta Raurica (Augst)
The bishopric led a politically and culturally inconspicuous existence until the time of the Empire of Charlemagne. The bishops Wado and Haito (762-836) were advisers of Charlemagne and initiators of crucial cultural changes.
The diocese acquired the rights of Moutier-Grandval Abbey in 999 as a gift from Rudolf III (971-1032), the last king of Burgundy. The bishop became the vassal and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. It was the beginning of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, which formally lasted until 1803.
Emperor Henry II (953-1024) financed the renovation of the Münster in Basel, the cathedral. The Prince-Bishopric became the most powerful state on the Upper Rhine by acquiring St. Ursanne Abbey in 1146 and conducting military expeditions in the thirteenth century.
Delémont, Musée d’art et d’histoire.
The possessions encompassed the Jura, the Sundgau, southern Alsace, Birseck, Birstal, and territories south of Germany.
The Eidgenossen confiscated the southern part of the Jura and the cities of Biel and Moutier in 1476 and 1477 (after the Burgundian Wars). The northern part of the Jura and the cities Délemont, Porrentruy, and St. Ursanne remained the possession of the bishopric.
The town hall (Rathaus) of Basel
When Basel joined the Eidgenossenschaft in 1501, the relationship between the bishop and the city council became increasingly complex. The Reformation forced the bishop to move his seat to Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German) in 1527. The Chapter went to Freiburg im Breisgau and in 1678 to Arlesheim.
The architecture and grandeur of Porrentruy bear witness to the splendour of the prince-bishop and his court. The Treaty of Westphalia (1648) caused a further (political) separation between the northern and southern parts of the Jura.
Delémont (Delsberg), the castle of the chapter and the bishop’s summer residence
The prince-bishopric’s area (including the northern part of the Jura) remained a Catholic principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Protestant Bern kept its possessions in the southern part of the Jura.
The world would no longer be the same after 1792. Five political constructions succeeded in 13 years.
Collection: Musée jurassien d’art et d’histoire, Delémont
1792-1815
In 1792, the northern Catholic part of the Jura became the French République rauracienne. In 1793, this region merged with the French department Mont-Terrible. In 1798, France annexed the southern part of the Jura to this department.
In 1800, the whole area of the prince-bishopric was added to the Haut-Rhin department. This situation remained until Napoleon’s defeat. In 1813, Allied troops occupied the area, and Arlesheim was the seat of the Allied administration.
The four great powers decided to divide the territory of the Prince-Bishopric between Bern and Basel at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). Bern got the entire area and the Laufental of the bishopric, minus Birseck, as compensation for losing other places (the new cantons of Vaud and Argovie). The Birseck was assigned to the canton of Basel.
Delémont, Musée d’art et d’histoire.
The new canton of Jura was founded in 1979 to separate from the canton of Bern. In 1833, the Birseck joined the new canton of Basel-Landschaft. The Laufental left the canton of Bern in 1994 and joined the canton of Basel-Landschaft in 1994. Due to the referendums (2017 and 2021), Moutier will leave the canton of Bern in 2026 and become part of the canton of Jura.
(Source: A. Berchtold, Bâle et Europe. Une histoire culturelle, Lausanne 1990)
See also the Bishopric of Basel after 1815
Delémont, Musée d’art et d’histoire.
