Church of Saint Leonard, Gothic church near Barfüsserplatz, Basel, Switzerland

Saint Leonard's Church stands on a hill spur 17 metres above Barfüsserplatz, reached by the steps of Leonhardsberg. Its massive, sparsely articulated west wall belonged to the 12th-century inner city wall. The present building is a three-nave Gothic hall church with a star vault, a bell tower, and a Romanesque crypt with 12th-century wall paintings.

The Basel earthquake of 1356 destroyed most of the church and the adjoining monastery. Around 1360 a High Gothic basilica rose on the ruins, its flat-roofed long choir and two chapels (St Mary's, St Theobald's) built over the old crypt. From 1481 the nave was rebuilt as a three-aisled hall church with a star vault, still unfinished in 1492; Hans Niesenberger worked as master builder from 1487 until his death in 1493, Hans Nussdorf took over in 1496, and the nave vaulting was only closed in 1521.

The church is Protestant Reformed, not French Reformed: since the Reformation of 1529 it has been one of Basel's four Protestant churches, alongside the Münster, St. Peter and St. Martin. Its name comes from Saint Leonard, to whom the Gothic former collegiate church is dedicated. The former monastery buildings now house the Lohnhof, named after the director who paid the city's craftsmen their wages there from 1668; today it holds a hotel, a restaurant, the musical instrument museum and the Baseldytschi Bihni cellar theatre.

Visitors can access the medieval crypt beneath the building to see wall paintings and historical graves from centuries past. Plan your visit by starting with the main church level above before descending to explore the older layers below, which helps you understand the building's full history.

The crypt below still holds medieval wall paintings created by craftspeople in the 11th century, showing how believers decorated their sacred spaces long ago. These artworks remain largely hidden from plain sight, making a descent into the underground chambers a direct encounter with authentic medieval craftsmanship.