Basel Town Hall, Gothic town hall at Marktplatz, Switzerland
Basel Town Hall is a red sandstone building on the Marktplatz, with a late Gothic central section built from 1504 to 1514 and a tower added between 1898 and 1904. The tower carries a 1901 mural of standard-bearer Hans Bär, who fell at Marignano in 1515. The facade includes reliefs of child soldiers and winged victories, and a Justitia above the Vordere Ratsstube.
The building was constructed starting in 1504 to commemorate Basel's entry into the Swiss Confederation, replacing an earlier seat of government. Over the centuries, various rooms were redesigned and new elements were added while maintaining the essential character.
The Basel German name "Roothus" means council house but also sounds like "red house", a pun on the red sandstone facade. The Grossratssaal frescoes painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1522 are lost; fragments and preparatory drawings are kept in the Kunstmuseum.
The town hall is easy to find on the market square and accessible from several sides, with the main facade being most prominent. The interior still houses government offices, so not all areas are open to casual visitors.
The bronze plaque of 1537 on the right pier of the entrance hall records earlier floods of the Birsig, the stream that now runs underground beneath Basel. The coats of arms of the cantons on the battlements were added while the building went up between 1504 and 1514.
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