Basel

Basel (French: Bâle) is a city in the north of Switzerland. It is sometimes called Basle in English.Grihault, Nicki 2011. Basle, Switzerland: A cultural guide. T Travel, Telegraph Media Group, London.  Basel is the capital of the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt. 

The city has a population of about 170,000 people and is the third largest city in Switzerland after Zürich and Geneva.

Basel borders Germany and France in the north and the canton of Basel-Land in the south. The Rhine river flows through the city.

 History 
Basel was a prince-bishopric from 999 until 1803. Most of the city was destroyed in the 1356 Basel earthquake, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Central Europe. Basel joined Switzerland in 1501.

 Economy 
Basel is well known for the many chemical and pharmaceutical companies that are located in the city, such as Novartis, Syngenta and Hoffmann-La Roche.

The only ports in Switzerland are located along the Rhine river in Basel, which makes the city important for imports and exports to and from Switzerland. Water transport using cargo ships on the Rhine river connects Basel with the seaport of Rotterdam. Basel ports are connected to the Swiss railway and road network.

Basel shares the international airport EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg with the French city Mulhouse.

 Education 
The University of Basel was founded in 1460 and is the oldest in Switzerland and one of the oldest in the world. Erasmus, Paracelsus, Daniel Bernoulli, Leonhard Euler and Friedrich Nietzsche worked here.

 Gallery 

 References 

 Other websites 

 Official website of the city of Basel  


Category:Imperial free cities