Basel’s best spot without qualities: The Münsterplatz is dying
Basel’s most photographed piece of architecture is probably the Münster cathedral. The square surrounding it, however, is a desert. The Münsterplatz is beautiful – the most beautiful square in town. But something is missing. And it doesn't help that nobody knows what to do with this spot.
If you cross the Münsterplatz, you are awestruck: the sandstone monument of the Münster stands majestically at the edge of the cobblestones. The cathedral emanates tranquillity and stability. It is a feeling reflected by the Münsterplatz, although this should not be its only trait: such vast emptiness, such empty vastness – the square lies quiet under the sun, and do the cobblestones turn into sand? Instead of awe, people are struck by a feeling of uneasiness.
All attempts at awakening have so far failed
Many have tried to change this feeling. In every other part on the world, such a gem would be the centre of city life. It would be filled with chairs and tables, stalls, happy people, families, and of course tourists. Discussions and ideas about what to do with Münsterplatz kept coming up over the years. And again and again, they were nipped in the bud. When the final parking space on the Münsterplatz was abolished ten years ago, efforts to fill this unbearable emptiness began.
However, none of the often creative projects had any success. A planned buvette was vetoed both by the church and local residents in the same year. A mere ten people objected, yet the project was dropped. The square seemed even emptier than before. Buvette initiator Beat Leuppi tried his hand at succeeding with another idea: An ice rink. But this idea also melted beneath the angry gaze of the opposition – even though the lottery foundation had already promised to provide the necessary finance for the project. This time, it was not just the residents and the church but also the Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB), the City Gardeners, the Freiwillige Denkmalpflege, and the local security service who were against the idea.
No more chilling with a view of the Rhine. Underneath the Pfalz, by the walls at the back of the Münster, glasses chink quietly and the odd piece of conversation echoes across the empty square on the summer wind. Particularly in the evenings, the Münsterplatz is more forsaken than any other square in town – and we are talking about the middle of Basel here, not some outer quarter. The former (short but sweet) evening programme left the square after the local bars there, and it does not seem like it will ever return.
But it would be an overstatement to say that nothing ever happens at the Münsterplatz. Still, these events are a sharp contrast to the otherwise general emptiness of the square. The city marathon, the Christmas market, open-air cinema, the lantern exhibition during Fasnacht, Herbstmesse, and a few days of parcours – and that’s it. For the local church, this is the limit. Its service demands peace and quiet – more so than other churches, it appears. Nobody knows why. And nobody has a problem with following the regulations during church services. But must Christian belief really be sad and see laughter and joy as a sin?
Counter-opinions from the own ranks
Yet the residents who are afraid of noise are also increasingly faced with counter-opinions from within their own ranks. By now, many of the local residents admit themselves that the square is empty and dead. Not all of them want only solitude, and tourists often ask if the Münsterplatz has been emptied for cleaning.
Lots of people wish for more use of the Münsterplatz, but all the ideas become convoluted paper tigers. There is some harmless noise on the square from time to time: The high school at Münsterplatz, for example, the Museum of Cultures, or the Isaak restaurant. All of them have a door that opens onto Münsterplatz, but life remains in their backyards.
We are not alone
It is nice and quaint to have a resting centre in the middle of the city, but the Münsterplatz does not provide relaxation. Instead, it emanates unease, an emptiness that became a vacuum. There are no new projects in sight because nobody wants to run up against the walls put up by a veto. Too bad, because the square deserves more than this desert. Interestingly, Zurich is facing similar problems these days. Tourists and pedestrians were almost driven away with the emptiness there. The Münsterplatz in Zurich is as empty as ours is, although it is certainly not as beautiful…
Cobblestones are expensive, and the Münsterplatz deserves them. But not if you are only allowed to whisper there. The most beautiful square in Basel should come alive again. It doesn’t mean holding dances or opening beer gardens in the summer (although… why not?). What it takes is more headspace than empty space.
Record number of overnight stays in Basel’s hotels during first half of 2017
For the first half of 2017, Basel’s hotels never had as many people staying overnight: With 626,810 bookings in total, this represents an increase of 6.8 per cent. There was also a new record in June, with 126,741 overnight stays.
This June increase of 4.6 per cent is thanks to foreign visitors. They generated 95,289 overnight stays last month – which is an increase of 6.7 per cent for foreigners, the statistics office of Basel-Stadt announced on Thursday. Counting foreign guests exclusively, the first half of 2017 even showed an increase of 10.4 per cent to 429,359 overnight stays.
Swiss guests booked 31,452 overnight stays in June – a reduction of 1.4 per cent. Internal tourism also decreased by 0.3 per cent in the first six months of 2017 to 197,451 overnight stays.
Germany, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy remain the most important guest countries for Switzerland. German guests increased by 25 per cent in the first half of 2017 but there were 12 per cent fewer British guests.
June 2017 marks a new high for overnight stays of foreign guests in the 80-year history of Basel’s tourism statistics. This increase is due to the Art Basel, according to the statistics office. Various congresses and events were also positive influences.
However, the average duration of stay of hotel guests sank from 2.11 days to 1.96 days in June compared to the month before. Room occupancy sank by 5.4 per cent to 71.2 per cent. The reason for this is most likely the number of available rooms, which increased by 10 per cent to 4,490 rooms within a year.
Two wanted men arrested at SBB train station
Swiss border guards have arrested two Polish citizens who were wanted for a suspected theft in Zurich.
The men were stopped and questioned several days ago at the SBB train station. Investigations carried out by the border guard corps revealed that the men, aged 43 and 44, are accused of committing a theft at a Zurich train station.
Both men were handed over to the authorities