This was the second time that The Grandma visited this beautiful city. The first, in 1979, was also for a sporting event, the European Cup. There are cities that make you live great moments and enjoy them. Basel is one of them.
Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine.
Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva).
Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland, the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe.
Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. It is the hometown of the Art Basel, world's most prestigious and influential international art fair, showcasing modern and contemporary works from leading galleries and attracting top collectors, artists, and enthusiasts globally.
Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since the Renaissance, and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century.
The official language of Basel is German, but the main spoken language is Basel German, the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.
The name of Basel is first recorded as Basilia in the 3rd century (237/8), at the time referring to the Roman castle. This name is mostly interpreted as deriving from the personal name Basilius, from a toponym villa Basilia (estate of Basilius) or similar.
Another suggestion derives it from a name Basilia attested in northern France as a development of basilica, the term for a public or church building (as in Bazeilles), but all of these names reference early church buildings of the 4th or 5th century and cannot be adduced for the 3rd-century attestation of Basilia.
By popular etymology, or simple assonance, the basilisk becomes closely associated with the city, used as heraldic supporter from 1448, represented on coins minted by the city, and frequently found in ornaments.
The Middle French form Basle was adopted into English, but this form has fallen gradually out of use although it continues to be used with the modern French pronunciation in some sections of British English, at least informally. Currently, the spelling Basel is most often used, to match the official German spelling.
In French Basle was still in use in the 18th century, but was gradually replaced by the modern French spelling Bâle. In Icelandic, the city is recorded as Buslaraborg in the 12th-century itinerary Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan.
More information: Kanton Basel-Stad
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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