ON THE CITY OUTSKIRTS:
BRUDERHOLZ
Separating the Birs and Birsig valleys, the Bruderholz uplands belong geographically to the southeastern part of the Sundgau hills. About two kilometres wide and five kilometres long, this gently undulating area rises to more than 100 meters above the valleys. Politically, the area is shared by several Basel-Land communities and by the city of Basel, which started to develop the northernmost part of Bruderholz as a residential neighbourhood at the very beginning of the 20th century.
This 2-hour tour takes us up the slopes extending southwards of the Gundeldingen neighbourhood, through the gently undulating Bruderholz uplands.
Our meeting point is on the terrace in front of the Margarethenkirche from where we have a good view of the city's skyline. During a short stroll through the large public park laid out in the late 19th c. on the grounds of an earlier ornamental farm, we talk about the area's 14th / 15th c. water castles as well as about the later development of the Gundeldingen neighbourhood.
Turning onto Unterer Batterieweg we continue uphill along winding residential streets characterised by early 20th century houses typical of the so-called Reform Architektur - laid out amidst large green areas, they bear witness to the first stages of the development of the Bruderholz neighbourhood.
Our walk continues along Bruderholz-Allee - we discuss its representational character and the typology of housing dating from various time periods. In addition to seeing some examples of Modernism, including sacral architecture of the late 1950s and the early 1960s, exemplified by the Bruder Klaus- and Tituskirche, we also address the importance of the water-supply infrastructure. The first reservoirs and filters built in the area date back to the first decade of the 20th century. Later on a water tower had to be built so as to meet the water demand of the area’s growing population. Visible from afar, the Bruderholz Wasserturm, built in 1926, has become the area’s landmark. The tour ends on the observation platform at the top of the tower, with a bird’s-eye-view of the city and its surroundings.
This 2-hour tour takes us up the slopes extending southwards of the Gundeldingen neighbourhood, through the gently undulating Bruderholz uplands.
Our meeting point is on the terrace in front of the Margarethenkirche from where we have a good view of the city's skyline. During a short stroll through the large public park laid out in the late 19th c. on the grounds of an earlier ornamental farm, we talk about the area's 14th / 15th c. water castles as well as about the later development of the Gundeldingen neighbourhood.
Turning onto Unterer Batterieweg we continue uphill along winding residential streets characterised by early 20th century houses typical of the so-called Reform Architektur - laid out amidst large green areas, they bear witness to the first stages of the development of the Bruderholz neighbourhood.
Our walk continues along Bruderholz-Allee - we discuss its representational character and the typology of housing dating from various time periods. In addition to seeing some examples of Modernism, including sacral architecture of the late 1950s and the early 1960s, exemplified by the Bruder Klaus- and Tituskirche, we also address the importance of the water-supply infrastructure. The first reservoirs and filters built in the area date back to the first decade of the 20th century. Later on a water tower had to be built so as to meet the water demand of the area’s growing population. Visible from afar, the Bruderholz Wasserturm, built in 1926, has become the area’s landmark. The tour ends on the observation platform at the top of the tower, with a bird’s-eye-view of the city and its surroundings.
Riehen - a small community in the canton of Basel-Stadt - likes to call itself the large green village. Situated in the valley of the river Wiese and surrounded by fields and vineyard-covered hills, Riehen is characterized by a mixture of rural and urban way of living. Its many parks and gardens remind us that, starting in the mid 16th c., Basel patricians favored this area and had their summer estates built here. During our tour, we have a look at how some of them - e.g., the Berower, Sarasin, Wettstein, or the Wenken estate - have been transformed through time.
Our tour starts in front of the village church that used to be at the center of a medieval fortification. We look at some of the surrounding buildings, such as the Klösterli and the Meierhof, and talk about Riehen’s history. On the way to the Berower Park, we observe the landscape spreading underneath the Tüllinger Hill and discuss Renzo Piano’s design of the Fondation Beyeler, as well as Peter Zumthor’s project for its future extension. A short walk through the garden of the former Sarasin estate brings us to Rössligasse and its old village houses. We continue through the commercial center and discuss ways in which architectural interventions of the late 1950s, as well as the more recent ones, have changed the character of the community. After visiting the historic Wettstein houses, we take a bus for a brief ride to Wenken Park. We look at the 17th c. “Old Wenkenhof” and the 18th c. baroque “New Wenkenhof”, and end the tour by Richard Serra’s sculptural installation in the nearby English-style park.
Our tour starts in front of the village church that used to be at the center of a medieval fortification. We look at some of the surrounding buildings, such as the Klösterli and the Meierhof, and talk about Riehen’s history. On the way to the Berower Park, we observe the landscape spreading underneath the Tüllinger Hill and discuss Renzo Piano’s design of the Fondation Beyeler, as well as Peter Zumthor’s project for its future extension. A short walk through the garden of the former Sarasin estate brings us to Rössligasse and its old village houses. We continue through the commercial center and discuss ways in which architectural interventions of the late 1950s, as well as the more recent ones, have changed the character of the community. After visiting the historic Wettstein houses, we take a bus for a brief ride to Wenken Park. We look at the 17th c. “Old Wenkenhof” and the 18th c. baroque “New Wenkenhof”, and end the tour by Richard Serra’s sculptural installation in the nearby English-style park.
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