Basle | Switzerland | Marktplatz | Week 27

Basle [german: Basel; french: Bâle], founded ca. 50 AD by Celts and later named Basilia by the Romans. Lies in the Swiss-German-French tripoint on the shores of the Rhine about 75 km west of Zurich, 300 km west of Munich and 400 km east of Paris. 3rd largest city in Switzerland.

Population: 175.000 [2015] | 178.000 [1990] | 148.000 [1930] | 109.000 [1900]

Basle became a Prince-Bishopric, being ruled by a Bishop, by 999 and in 1501 it joined the Swiss Confederation. The city owns the oldest university (1460) in Switzerland, where Erasmus of Rotterdam and Paracelsus lectured. It was also an early publishing centre of europe. Today Basle is a centre of the chemistry and pharmaceutic industry. The Treaty of Basel ended the Swabian War in 1499. In 1795 the peace of Basel ended the war between France and Prussia/Spain. Also the 1st World Zionist Congress was held in Basel in 1897 and the Basel Convention (1989) lead to a modern international managment of hazardous waste.

In the cityscape above we see the town hall side of the Marktplatz in Basle’s old town. The dominating red building is the city’s town hall, which dates back to 1504 in its oldest parts. Its current shape and facade was designed during a restoration between 1898 and 1904 when the large tower was added as well. An invisible feature of the square is the river Birsig which is covered and runs beneath it towards the Rhine.

Click for larger view:

Basel Basle Marktplatz Architektur Panorama

For classic view and more infos about the place (german link):

Basel Basle Market Square Cityscape

We documented more streets and places in Basle. Find some unfinnished examples below.

Münsterplatz Basel Basle Architecture

Münsterplatz

Basle Freie Strasse streetview

Freie Straße

Cologne | Germany | Schildergasse | Week 8

Cologne [German: Köln, Latin: Colonia], founded over 2.000 years ago, lies in western Germany on the shores of the Rhine, ca. 160 km east of Brussels and 50 km south of the Ruhr region, largest city in the german state Northrhine-Westphalia, 4th largest in Germany and 29th in Europe.

Population: 1.047.00 (2014) | 953.000 (1990) | 740.000 (1930) | 372.000 (1900)

Cologne was declared a roman city as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippensium (CCAA) in the year 50 and was capital of the province Germania inferior. Since then it always retained its prominent role in the region, has been a member of the Hanseatic League, has always been a key city of the Catholics and in more recent history also been famous for its Carnival. Cologne is part of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (the 6th largest in europe) and home to one UNESCO world heritage site – the Cologne Cathedral, the largest gothic church of Northern Europe.

The Schildergasse (literal english: shields alley) is, despite its modern looks, the second oldest street of Cologne, having been the major east-west street of the roman city. Today it is the cities major shopping street (and one of the most frequented in Germany) with several big department stores and high street labels. Cologne was one of the most severe hit german cities in WWII, so the old town looks rather modern today, as can be seen in this street section. The only historic building here is the Haus Schierenberg, built in 1894.

Visit our archive for other streetline panoramas from the Bundesland Northrhine-Westphalia.

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Cologne Schildergasse Panorama

For classic view and further details visit the archive (for english link click here):

Schildergasse Shopping Panorama Foto Image