The Protestant Münster, or cathedral (consecrated 1103), formerly the church of the All Saints monastery, has a bell (cast in 1486) inscribed “vivos voco, mortuos plango, fulgura frango” (“I call the living, I toll the dead, I break lightning bolts”), which is said to have inspired Friedrich Schiller’s famous poem “Das Lied von der Glocke” (“The Lay of the Bell”). The former monastery now houses the municipal museum. Other notable landmarks are the round, massive Munot Fort (1564–85), the parish church (1460–1517), the old (1382–1412) and new (1617) town halls, and the Haus zum Ritter, or the Knight’s House (1485), with frescoes by Tobias Stimmer.

A busy rail junction and tourist centre, it manufactures metal products, textiles, and watches. Important hydroelectric plants are nearby on the Rhine, there noted for its magnificent Rhine Falls, 2 mi (3 km) southwest. There is an aluminum plant in the industrial suburb of Neuhausen am Rheinfall. The population is German speaking and largely Protestant.

Over the mediaeval Old Town of Schaffhausen looms the imposing Munot fortress. The houses of the Old Town are richly decorated with oriel windows and lavishly painted facades. The town, located on the Upper Rhine between the Black Forest and Lake Constance, and surrounded by vineyards, is a popular destination for holidays and day-trips.

The town of Schaffhausen is in the northernmost corner of Switzerland, in the “knee” of the Rhine in Eastern Switzerland on the border with Germany. It owes its origins to the Rheinfall waterfall: the settlement arose where shippers needed somewhere to unload and stack their goods when avoiding the rapids that were impassable for ships.

The traffic-free Old Town of Schaffhausen is considered one of the prettiest in Switzerland, on account of its many oriel windows and lavishly painted facades. Many of the fine guildhouses and merchant’s houses date from Gothic and Baroque times. The lively Old Town is very good for shopping. The town began with the street market in what is now the Vordergasse. This is also where you will find the High Gothic St. Johann church with its remarkable acoustics.

The emblem of the town, the Munot fortress, can be seen for miles. The ring-shaped stronghold was built between 1564 and 1589 to a design by Albrecht Dürer. You can see far and wide from the battlements. Every evening at 9 p.m., the Munot guard who lives in the tower rings the Munot bell, which used to be a sign that the town gates and inns should close.

In the area to the north of Schaffhausen, in the hilly region of the Randen, and on the vine-clad slopes of the Klettgau, there are lovely walks and cycle rides and you can enjoy a tasty drop of Pinot Noir. Learn about how the wine is made during a one-hour walk along the Trasadingen Wine Trail or in the Museum of Viticulture in Hallau.

The riverside landscape along the Rhine is a lovely area for cycling, walking and boating. The popular Untersee Lake-Rhine boat trip from Schaffhausen to Kreuzlingen is nearly 50 km long. The section of river between Schaffhausen and the well-preserved little mediaeval town of Stein am Rhein, with its frescos and painted houses, is particularly charming. The Benedictine monastery of St. Georgen now houses the monastery museum. Over the town towers the castle of Hohenklingen.

Highlights

• Old Town – one of the most delightful Old Towns in Switzerland, with wonderful Baroque houses and 170 oriel windows, which were a status symbol on the houses of rich merchants.
• Rheinfall at Schaffhausen – Europe’s largest and most powerful waterfall, where the water crashes down 21 metres, across a width of 150 metres. The natural spectacle is at its best in July when water levels are highest.
• Boat trip on the Rhine from Schaffhausen to Stein am Rhein and on across the Untersee to Konstanz and Kreuzlingen – one of the finest river trips in Europe.
• Former Benedictine abbey of Allerheiligen – the monastery church with its 11th century cloisters is an important Romanesque historic building, with a herb garden and museum about the town’s history and industry.
• Modern Art Gallery – a former textile factory houses large installations by internationally renowned artists.

Top Events

• International Bach Festival – Music by J. S. Bach is played to the highest standard throughout Schaffhausen (May every three years, 2009 etc.).
• Schaffhausen Jazz Festival – most important showcase for Swiss jazz, current work in jazz and improvised music in the “Kammgarn” cultural centre (May).
• Grape Blossom Festival in Schaffhausen – the grape blossom festival is celebrated in all 20 wine-growing districts of the region, with cellar visits and tasting sessions (June).
• Museum night at Hegau-Schaffhausen – many museums in the region are open until late evening (September).
• Trottenfeste in Pinot Noir country – various autumn festivals in the wine-growing areas around Schaffhausen (September).
• Chlaus- und Kunsthandwerkermarkt – Christmas craft market in the historic “Lower Town”, decorated for the festive season. Procession with cow bells etc. (December).

How to get there

Public Transport: Schaffhausen is easily and comfortably reached by rail. It is located on the internationally important Stuttgart – Schaffhausen – Zürich – Milan route. This intersects in Schaffhausen with the Basel – Schaffhausen – Lindau line of the German Rail, guaranteeing ideal accessibility from all directions. Rail pass, schedule of the Swiss Federal Railroad; schedule of the German Federal Railroad.
By car: Schaffhausen is well connected to both the German and the Swiss Autobahn networks. It is situated on the direct Stuttgart – Zürich axis.
Other/Air: Coming from Zürich Airport, where direct flights from almost every international metropolis arrive and depart, you can reach Schaffhausen in 30 minutes by car. You will reach Schaffhausen in less than one hour by public transportation.

Rhine Port / Dreiländereck

Experience the big wide world in miniature. Where Germany, France and Switzerland meet and the ships leave for the North Sea, is also the hub and pivotal point of Switzerland’s raw material supply.

Take a seat in the Restaurant Dreiländereck with its fascinating view of the Rhine, and watch the hectic comings and goings at Basel’s Rhine Port. Dozens of Rhine-ships battle with the current every day, and are sure to have your full attention when they pass within a hair’s breadth of the bridge columns.

Spalentor (Spalen Gate)

The Spalentor is the most imposing of the three surviving city gates that formed part of the fortifications of 1400.
Many important goods for the supply of the city passed through this gate from Alsace.

The side facing away from the town is decorated with three figures from the beginning of the 15th century – the Madonna and two prophets.

Just close by, you can discover the Botanic Garden of the Basel University!

Modern architecture

Celebrity architects such as Richard Meier, Frank O. Gehry and Zaha Hadid have left their indelible mark here by way of sensational shapes and forms. Herzog & de Meuron – Basel’s very own architectural double act could be spotted downtown comparing designs over coffee.

Michael Alder
Gewerbe- und Atelierhaus, St. Alban-Tal 40a

Mario Botta
Verwaltungsgebäude der BIZ, Aeschenplatz 1
Tinguely Museum, Paul Sacher-Anlage 1

Burckhardt & Partner AG
Grand Casino, Flughafenstrasse 225
Hotel Victoria, Centralbahnplatz 3-4

Diener + Diener
Ausbildungs- und Konferenzzentrum der UBS, Viaduktstrasse 33
Basler Versicherung, Aeschengraben 21

Herzog + De Meuron
Zentralstellwerk, Münchensteinerstrasse 15
Altes Stellwerk SBB hinter dem Wolfgottesacker, Walkeweg
St. Jakob Park (Fussballstadion), St. Jakobs-Strasse 395
Schaulager, Ruchfeldstr. 19, Münchenstein (Tram 11 bis Schaulager)

Theo Hotz
Messehalle 1, Riehenring

Peter Märkli
Architekturmuseum, Steinenberg 7

Karl Moser
Antoniuskirche, Kannenfeldstr. 35
Pauluskirche, Steinenring 20

Naef, Studer & Studer
Rosshofareal, Petersgraben 51

Richard Meier
Geschäftshaus “Euregio” Viaduktstrasse / Innere Margarethenstrasse

Renzo Piano
Museum Fondation Beyeler in Riehen (Tram 6 bis Fondation Beyeler)

Schwarz & Gutmann
Stadttheater, Elisbethenstrasse 16

Wilfried und Katharina Steib
Museum für Gegenwartskunst, St. Alban Rheinweg 60

Frank O.Gehry
Vitra Design Museum, Charles-Eames-Strasse 1, Weil am Rhein – DE (Bus 55 ab Claraplatz bis Vitra)

Morger & Degelo
Messeturm, Messeplatz 42
Musikmuseum, Im Lohnhof 9

Zwimpfer & Partner
Peter Merian-Haus, Jacob-Burckhardt-Haus, Peter Merian-Strasse

Hammering Man by J. Borofsky

Since the end of August 1989 this giant with a height of 13.5 metres and a weight of 8 tons has been swinging his hammer in the steady rhythm of a man’s breathing.

According to Jonathan Borofsky, at his location on the Aeschenplatz he is intended to serve as a symbol «for all of us who are working together to make our environment on this planet safe and worth living in».

Fondation Beyeler

Top works of the classical modern period
From Cézanne to van Gogh, Klee, Miró to Warhol and Rothko – within the Fondation Beyeler is one of the most famous private collections in the world, with top works of the classical modern period.
It acquired a publicly accessible home in 1997, in a dignified museum building in Riehen, near Basel, designed by star architect Renzo Piano.

The permanent collection exhibition is regularly supplemented with spectacular and attractive special exhibitions.

Opening hours
Monday to Sunday 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Wednesday till 8.00 p.m.

Kunstmuseum Basel

The leading art house in Switzerland.
In the Basel Art Museum you will come across the oldest public art collection in the world. The museum owns the world’s largest collection of works by the Holbein family.

The Renaissance is also represented with works by Witz, Cranach the Elder, Grünewald, and others. Highlights of the 19th century are paintings by Böcklin, van Gogh, Gauguin and Cézanne.

In the 20th century, the main focuses are on cubism (Picasso, Braque, Léger), German Expressionism and American art since 1950. Contemporary art from the 1960s onwards is exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Opening hours
Tuesday, Thurstady to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed on Mondays

It was originally a Celtic settlement of the Rauraci tribe. The name Basilia seems first to have been applied to a Roman fortification mentioned in AD 374. At the beginning of the 5th century, the bishop of Augusta Raurica moved his see there. The city’s university, the first in Switzerland, was founded in 1460 by Pope Pius II, who had been in Basel for the celebrated Ecumenical Council (1431–49). In 1501 Basel was admitted into the Swiss Confederation. With the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus teaching at the university (1521–29), the city became a centre of humanism and of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. The Counter-Reformation brought skilled workmen as refugees from other parts of Europe, and by the 18th century political power was in the hands of the trade guilds. In 1831 the rural part of the canton revolted, proclaiming independence the following year; in 1833 it was organized into the half canton of Basel-Landschaft, the city forming that of Basel-Stadt.

The Rhine, bending northward, divides the city into two parts, linked by six bridges. Kleinbasel, to the north, is the Rhine port and industrial section, with the buildings of the annual Swiss Industries Fair. Grossbasel, the older commercial and cultural centre on the south bank, is dominated by the Romanesque and Gothic-style Münster (Protestant); consecrated in 1019, it was Basel’s cathedral until 1528 and has a monumental slab to Erasmus, who is entombed there. Other notable buildings are the late Gothic Rathaus, or town hall (1504–21); the Church of St. Martin, the oldest religious foundation in Basel; and the former 14th-century Franciscan church, now housing the historical museum. There are three surviving medieval city gates, of which the 15th-century Spalentor (St. Paul’s Gate) is one of the finest in Europe. The new university buildings were completed in 1939; the university library contains manuscripts of the religious reformers Martin Luther, Erasmus, Huldrych Zwingli, and Philipp Melanchthon and of acts of the Ecumenical Council. The public art gallery (Kunstmuseum Basel, founded 1662) has fine collections of works by Hans Holbein the Younger, Konrad Witz, and Arnold Böcklin, all of whom lived and worked in Basel.

Basel is an important distributing centre for foreign trade that produces one-third of the total Swiss Customs’ revenue and is the site of the Bank for International Settlements (1930). The city is one of the nodal points of the railways of Europe and is an equally important river port. Regular air services operate from the international airport at Saint-Louis, in French territory 8 miles (13 km) northwest. Also a major industrial city, Basel is the centre of the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Electrical engineering and banking and the manufacture of machinery and silk textiles are also important. The population is mainly German speaking and Protestant.