The Cathedral or Münster of Basel

8 December 2023

The Cathedral of Basel (das Münster) is over a thousand years old. In 1019, after renovating its early medieval predecessor, the cathedral was consecrated in the presence of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Heinrich II (973-1024) and his wife Kunigunde (975-1040).

Henry II (973-1024) and Kunigunde (975-1040), the original statues, Museum Kleines Klingental

The copies

Henry II (973-1024) and Kunigunde (975-1040), the original, Museum Kleines Klingental

Poster: Stadtgeschichte Basel

St. Martin, the original statue, Museum Kleines Klingental

Copy on the facade of the cathedral

The original. Museum Kleines Klingental

The cathedral around 1250. Collection: Museum Kleines Klingental

The Romanesque church, better known as the Münster, expanded into a great complex with chapels, the bishop’s palace and chapitre palaces on the Münsterplatz and Rittergasse until the reformation in 1529.

The Gallus Gate, 11th century.

The great earthquake of 18 October 1356 almost wholly destroyed the cathedral. Only the Romanesque Gallus Gate was preserved. The restoration lasted until the completion of the last tower in 1500.

The cathedral around 1500. Collection: Museum Kleines Klingental

The Museum Kleines Klingental, the Basel Historical Museum in the Barfüsserkerk and the cathedral offer a well-documented (archaeological) overview of its (building) history and its many (religious) works of art.

Many prominent Basler citizens and European celebrities found their final resting place in the cathedral, including Jacobus Bernoulli (1655-1705) and Desiderius Erasmus (1467-1536).

The Münsterplatz

The Rittergasse

Jacobus Bernoulli (1655-1705)

 Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536)

The reformer Johannes Oekolampad (1481-1531)

Haus zur Mücke, the first secular public museum (1671) in Europe, the forerunner of the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Antikenmuseum Basel

Matthäus Merian (1593-1650), 1615. Basel around 1615, the Mittlere Brücke (1296) and the cathedral on the right. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Bildersammlung 1,291. Foto: Photo: TES

Christmas 2022