Basel: The cultural heart of Switzerland

THE MAIN synagogue, known as the Israelitische Gemeinde, is located at 24 Leimenstrasse. A Hebrew school and a day school are housed there.

By BEN G. FRANK
A PHOTO of the room where Theodor Herzl stayed at the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, Basel, Switzerland, during the First World Zionist Congress in 1897. (photo credit: GRAND HOTEL LES TROIS ROIS/ BASEL/SWITZERLAND)
A PHOTO of the room where Theodor Herzl stayed at the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, Basel, Switzerland, during the First World Zionist Congress in 1897.
(photo credit: GRAND HOTEL LES TROIS ROIS/ BASEL/SWITZERLAND)
While it’s a very early stage regarding international travel and tourism re COVID-19, it is not too soon to plan for that eventual overseas trip to the heart of Europe, including Switzerland, one of that continent’s most popular tourist destinations. An Israeli traveler I once met said that Switzerland was “the most beautiful place in the world” – this country of the Alps, of civilized behavior, famed for cheese, chocolate, clocks and watches. For 700 years, it has remained without conflict and still seems calm and content.
One of my favorite cities is Basel, the third-largest Swiss city. It is an academic, as well as chemical/ pharmaceutical center. On my last trip there, I felt an aura of scholarship, history, humanism, publishing and the love of the arts that permeates the place. No wonder Basel, with its 40 museums, is known as the “cultural heart of Switzerland.”
Indeed, the Kunstmuseum Basel stands as one of the top best art museums in the world. Located at 6 St. Alban-Graben, this famed institution contains a number of paintings of Jewish interest, such as Konrad Witz’s King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Esther Before King Ahasuerus and The Synagogue.
Situated at the exact point where Switzerland, France and Germany meet, Basel, which has a population about 175,000, straddles a particularly pastoral bend of the Rhine River. From the towers of its Gothic cathedral, you can look north past emerald-green farms and vineyards to see both France’s Vosges Mountains and Germany’s Black Forest.     .
On my visit, I enjoyed a quiet weekend exploring Basel’s historical center, a tidy hodgepodge of the medieval and modern. Popular are the banks of the Rhine River, where many an evening is spent by residents and tourists taking a swim, especially in an unusual hot summer. I admired the contemporary architecture, another of Basel’s aesthetic passions.
IN THE story of Zionism and the State of Israel, Basel looms strong. The Basel Program – “to create a publicly recognized secured home for the Jewish people” – was adopted here. Theodor Herzl would later write in his diary, “In Basel, I founded the Jewish state. If I said this out loud today, I would be answered with universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, certainly in 50, everyone will know it.”
The First World Zionist Congress began on August 29, 1897. Frankfurt Jewry had refused its city as the site of the Congress, so it was held in the Basel Stadt Casino, which in 1938 was replaced by a new concert hall on Steinenberg Street. Today, inside the music hall, now under reconstruction, a plaque, in Hebrew and German, commemorates the Congress. It was dedicated in 1960 during the Herzl Centennial Year.
The English Jewish writer Israel Zangwill referred to the First World Zionist Congress when he wrote, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept as we remembered Zion. By the rivers of Basel, we resolved to weep no more.”
Not by chance did I book a room at the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois – known until 2006 as the Hotel of the Three Kings (Hotel Drei Konige) in Basel. Every American and many abroad are familiar with the claim, “George Washington slept here,” before, during and after the American Revolution. Well, Herzl did sleep at the Three Kings here, during the First World Zionist Congress in Basel. The room is still in use and can be booked by a guest. It remains nearly the same as it was when Herzl stayed there, with some renovation completed about 15 years ago.
A famous photo of Herzl standing on the balcony of this room in the Three Kings overlooking the Rhine, and its bridges in the background, is mounted on many a wall in homes, schools and institutions throughout the world This five-star super deluxe hotel with its 101 rooms, is located on the left bank of the Rhine, a few paces downstream of the city’s first bridge across the river. Considered one of the oldest hotels in Europe, founded in 1681, it was scheduled to reopen this year on June 3. The hotel is about a 10-minute walk from the casino and 15 minutes from the synagogue.
THE MAIN synagogue, known as the Israelitische Gemeinde, is located at 24 Leimenstrasse. A Hebrew school and a day school are housed there.
The Jewish Community Center adjoins the synagogue and houses a kosher restaurant and catering: Topas. Tel: 41-61-206-95-00. www.restauranttopas.ch/
A dairy restaurant, Restaurant Holbeinhof is at Leimenstrasse, 67, Basel. Tel:41-61-270-68-10. Kosher.
According to Swiss law, ritual slaughtering of animals is forbidden, so kosher meats are imported from France.
The Jewish Museum, 8 Kornhausgasse, Tel 41-61 261-95-14, is the only Jewish museum in Switzerland and is certainly worth a visit. Having been closed down because of the coronavirus, it reopened on Sunday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, only 15 visitors are allowed at a time. It reflects the Jewish population of more than 2,000 in Basel and exhibits the history of Swiss Jews, who now number approximately 18,000. This museum exhibits some exceptionally rare and remarkable items, such as tiny tefillin and rare Book of Esther, as well as havdalah candles, a Polish Jewish hanukkiah and other Judaic items. Also displayed are memorabilia from the First World Zionist Congress of 1897, including original letters from Theodor Herzl.
On exhibit in the institution’s gallery is an excellent display, “Passports, Profiteers, Police: A Swiss War Secret” that tells the story of an underground rescue network in Switzerland that provided thousands of Jews with Latin American passports to escape from Germany and its occupied territories.
Centuries ago, Jews were not allowed to live in Basel. They had to live outside the city walls. Indeed, still standing is a city gate where Jews were required to pay a special fee. Ironically, Basel became a center for Hebrew publishing.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Art Basel, the world’s biggest art fair. Living In South Florida as I do, I know that residents here and around the world are quite familiar with Art Basel, which takes place in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Art Basel presents modern and contemporary art and is scheduled for September 17 to 20 in Basel. Artists, art collectors and many celebrities will meet in Basel during those few days and make the city as we mentioned earlier, a focal point for the art scene. Indeed, it is!
The writer, a travel writer and travel talk presenter, is the author of A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe,” 4th ed., (Pelican Publishing) and the just-published historical novel: Klara’s War, (Amazon.com), as well as “The Scattered Tribe, Traveling the Diaspora from Cuba to India to Tahiti and Beyond” (Globe Pequot Press).
Follow him on twitter @bengfrank.