Rathaus, Basel Town Hall Marktplatz, a Photo Essay

Walking through the streets of Basel’s old town we were pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful red Rathaus Basel Town Hall Marktplatz. This eye-catching red facade building is hard to miss. It is one of the major architecture highlights of  old town Basel.

This town hall is so different from the row of buildings adjacent to it, no way you can miss it. It looked more like a castle, we loved the building and its bright facade cheered us instantly. Even the damp weather around hardly seemed to matter.

Basler Rathaus: Interesting Facts

This grand old monument, the Basel Town Hall is 500 years old!

Architectural style – Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance style. Years of construction – 1504 to 1514. I liked how well it is preserved and maintained. Hard to say it is 500 years old!

The bell tower was added to the older structure in 1900.

Rathaus Basel Town Hall Marktplatz in Switzerland

Rathaus, Basel Town Hall Marktplatz

Exterior facade of Basel Town hall

Exterior facade of Rathaus Basel Town hall Marktplatz

Must See in Walking Tour of Basel

Rathaus Town Hall is ranked high in list of places to see in Basel Switzerland. All walking tour packages of Basel includes this town hall in their itinerary. But if yours is a self planned itinerary then include this in things to do list in Basel old town.

While you are on you walking tour of old town Basel don’t miss out on this quirky sight: Basilisk Mythological Creature.

Basel town hall door frame

Door inside Basel town hall

One of the prettiest door I saw in Basel Town Hall Switzerland.

Rathaus dates from sixteenth century, the facade is elaborately painted with various characters. Each fresco there is worth framing with lens. The attractive inner courtyard with the stunning art work on the walls is very interesting and worth a long pause in your tour.

Paintings on wall of Basel Town Hall

Painting of Man on horse back

Rathaus Basel Town Hall Marktplatz is the seat of the Basel government and its parliament. The senate assembly hall in this building requires special permission to visit. Plan ahead if you intend to visit.

Even today the practice of meeting of Cantonal Government of Basel-Stadt here every week is continued. The Parliament assembles here bi-monthly, that explains the request for permission to enter the assembly hall.

basler rathaus

Basler Rathaus


Red seems to be the favorite color of people of Switzerland. Even the flag of Switzerland has red. It has a white cross in the center and background in red. St Gallen too has a bright red colored street. Check here: Stadtlounge – City Lounge of St Gallen.

Interested in another beautiful Town Hall? Check this: Leuven Town Hall in Belgium.

Interior facade of Rathaus

Facade of Basel City Hall

Interior facade of Rathaus with a clock

Details on facade of Basel Town Hall

See the old man making faces at tourists.

Timings to Visit Rathaus Basel City Hall

Rathaus Town Hall in Basel is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Open on Mondays to Fridays: 8am–12pm, 1:30–5pm.

Pin this for later

Rathaus Town Hall Basel old town switzerland

Enchanting Allure of St Gallen Cathedral Switzerland
Basel Minster (Cathedral) Basler Münster in Switzerland

30 Responses to “Rathaus, Basel Town Hall Marktplatz, a Photo Essay

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.