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Basel
Basel is the centre of northwestern Switzerland on the border with Germany and France, and located at the very core of central Europe. Identification with their city is exceptionally high not only among the city's population, but also among those who live in the city's suburbs and beyond.
Basel’s history goes back to the first century BC with a Celtic settlement on the Rhine River. The city developed as a busy trading centre through the Middle Ages. In 1460 the University of Basel was founded and in 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation. During the Renaissance it was one of the great cities of the humanist movement (Erasmus lived and died here). Since 1833, the city and the adjacent rural areas operated as two politically separate half cantons, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land. The town has developed into one of the major centres of the European chemical/pharmaceutical industry, and a leading centre for banking and insurance.
Basel projects, well beyond central Europe, the image of a progressive, environmentally conscious, international, and integrative cultural, educational, and economic metropolis. It successfully combines such small-town features as clarity and intimacy with the advantages of a city: expansiveness, wide choice, and diversity.
Despite its social dynamism and innovative economic strength, Basel is a lively border town, with a strong traditional base rooted in history which can be experienced not only at its carnival, the Basler Fasnacht. Both its historic townscape and modern architecture are part of Basel's living present.
Basel is a transport hub, being on the European road and rail axis, with good connections to everywhere in Switzerland and neighbouring countries, and also has its own airport (Basel Euroairport).
