Page 179 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

Must See
the site of an 11th-century
church, whose Romanesque
crypt survives. After the 1356
earthquake that destroyed
much of Basel, the church was
rebuilt in the Gothic style. The
interior features 15th- and
16th-century Gothic paintings
and an exquisite rood screen
from 1455.

9 "'\=
Historisches Museum BASEL FASNACHT
Starting in early morning darkness, Basel gets turned
⌂ Barfüsserplatz # 10am– upside down for die drey scheenschte Dääg (“the three
5pm Tue–Sun ∑ hmb.ch
most beautiful days”) of the year. During Switzerland’s
The headquarters of three biggest carnival, a sea of illuminated lanterns and
separate history museums, thousands of costumed music-makers and masked
this collection occupies the Fasnächtler (participants) pour through the city
Barfüsserkirche, a former streets for parties, parades and music.
Franciscan church. The
Historisches Museum traces
Basel’s history from its begin- q "'=
nings as a Celtic settle ment. w "'=
Ex hibits include pottery, silver- Architekturmuseum Haus zum
mounted ves sels, wooden ⌂ Steinenberg 7 # 11am– Kirschgarten
chests and Gothic, Renaissance 6pm Tue, Wed & Fri, 11am– ⌂ Elisabethenstrasse 27–
and Baroque liturgical vessels, 8:30pm Thu, 11am–5pm Sat 29 # 10am–5pm Tue–Fri &
as well as other items from & Sun ∑ sam-basel.org Sun, 1–5pm Sat ∑ hmb.ch
the cathe dral treasury. There
are also tapestries, altarpieces The Kunsthalle also houses This Rococo mansion, built
and weapons on display. Switzerland’s museum of archi- in 1775–80, was the resi dence
tecture. This museum seeks to of J R Burckhardt, the owner
expand people’s perceptions of a silk mill. Furnished in
of architecture and urban period style, it now houses
0 "'\= dev elopment, concentrating an absorbing museum that
Kunsthalle primarily on the archi tecture illustrates patri cian life in the
of the early 20th cen tury 18th and 19th centu ries. On
⌂ Klostergasse 5 # 11am– onwards, with an array of the first and sec ond floors
6pm Tue, Wed & Fri, 11am–
8:30pm Thu, 11am–5pm well-considered displays in there are ele gantly furnished
Sat & Sun ∑ kunsthalle Neo-Baroque rooms. draw ing rooms, a din-
basel.ch The Architecture ing room, a music salon
Museum also hosts and a kitchen. The top
Thanks to the Kunsthalle, Basel temporary exhi bitions, floor contains a display
is a well-established fore runner usually four per year, of rocking horses and
in the world of modern art. which show case the other toys. The ground
One of the city’s most promi- work of Swiss arch- floor and basement are
nent cultural institutions, the itects, and of filled with a superb col-
Kunsthalle hosts a rolling pro- international archi- lection of ceram ics,
gramme of exhibitions of work tecture, as well including Italian faÏence,
by lead ing contemporary art- as related subjects clocks and fine porce-
ists. The Kunsthalle is located such as architectural lain made at major
opposite the Theater Basel, photography, the European facto ries.
an other in stitution in the effect of acoustics
city’s cultural hub. Between on the design of a
the two buildings stands a building and the
fountain that incorporates links between art Ornately
several of Jean Tinguely’s and arch itecture. decorated 18th-
kinetic sculptures with moving There is also a century clock in
elements, created in a style programme of public the Haus zum
known as metamechanics. workshops and lectures. Kirschgarten
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