City History set in Stone

21 June 2021

Every street corner in the centre of (ancient) Basel, Basilea, has its history. On the hill of the Münster, the cathedral, the Celts built a defensive wall, the murus gallus, in the first century BC.

The Romans founded the Colonia Augusta Raurica around 44 BC to defend against the Germanic tribes on the other side of the Rhine. Basel’s growth began after the Roman legions departed in 410 AD and the Alemanni invaded. The bishop’s seat was in Augusta Raurica but moved to the hill of Basel in the fifth century.

After that, Basel’s history, growth, and prosperity took their course. The Historical Museum in the Barfüsserkerk has preserved the city’s history in stone. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, sandstone reliefs were mounted on public buildings, churches, taverns, and private homes.

They attest to those buildings’ history, owners, burghers or other stories. Many of them are the remains of buildings that have since disappeared.

(Source and further information: www.hmb.ch).

City centre 19th century. Collection: Historisches Museum Basel