Five stars for Merian

Basel's Hotel Merian has a long history, involving a number of closures and new beginnings. Housed in the building designed by Amadeus Merian and first opened in 1844, it was extended in 1857, closed in 1963 after a fire, rebuilt six years later, acquired by the Christoph Merian Foundation in 1986 and sold in 2018. Now it continues to operate as a self check-in hotel ... who knows for how long.

Most recently, the hotel's neo-classical facade facing the Rhein has sprouted five white stars! They are part of an art installation by Petrit Halilaj. "When The Sun Goes Away We Paint The Sky" is the work that the artist had originally created for Manifesta 14 in Prishtina, Kosovo, referring to the downfall of that city's Grand Hotel. In Basel, the stars on Hotel Merian will shine at night during Art Basel, while a conversation with the artist will take place in the building's grand hall,  the "Meriansaal," on 13 June 2024, at 11 am. For more info, see www.artbasel.com/events/detail/82902/For-the-city-of-Basel-When-the-sun-goes-away-we-paint-the-sky/52302