The University of Basel is a university with 13,000 students, 380 professors and seven faculties (Faculty of Theology, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Philosophy and History, Faculty of Philosophy and Natural History, Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Psychology). Together with four other universities abroad, the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (D), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (D), the Université de Haute-Alsace in Mulhouse (F) and the Université de Strasbourg (F), the University of Basel forms the European Campus (Eucor) (https://www.eucor-uni.org/en/). This is a partnership that offers students a joint research infrastructure and flexible mobility programmes. The European Campus offers 960 study programmes for 123,500 students. Therefore the University of Basel is a very international university. In 2017, a quarter of students and doctoral students came from abroad. The institutes of the University of Basel are spread over a large area, and there are also locations in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. There is a simple reason for this structure. Founded in 1460, the University of Basel is the oldest university in Switzerland. Over the years, the city of Basel has grown together with the university and new faculties have been added. As the city of Basel became too small for a central campus, the university buildings are now spread all over Basel.

So what better way to get to know the university and the city of Basel than on a tour of the city?

Now go to the Kollegienhaus, where we start.

Duration: 45 min 

Perhaps you already know this building from your enrolment?

The Kollegienhaus at Petersplatz 1 is the central building of the University of Basel. It was opened in 1939 and houses the Welcome Centre as well as lecture halls, seminar rooms, the assembly hall and a cafeteria for students. Part of the university administration is also located here. Before 1939, the university's Kollegienhaus was located at the Rheinsprung (Rheinsprung 9, 4051 Basel), next to the Mittlere Brücke in Basel. The plans for the newer Kollegienhaus were realised after a referendum. It was decided to demolish the Zeughaus on Petersplatz, a historically significant building from the 15th century, and to build the new main university building there. The Petersplatz was chosen as the location because it is close to other university buildings, such as the university hospital and the university's botanical gardens. A recurring feature that takes place every year on the Petersplatz and is definitely worth a visit is the Basel Autumn Fair (https://www.herbstmesse.ch). The Basel Autumn Fair is a traditional event with various stalls and rides and the history of the university has also been linked to the Autumn Fair for centuries.

Between 1431 and 1449, influential people, including popes and emperors, met annually in Basel with the main aim of reforming the church. Pope Martin V had chosen Basel as the venue for this conference. However, the first meeting in Basel did not take place until after his death. This so-called Council of Basel was enormously profitable for the city's trade and economy. When it came to an end in 1449, the city of Basel had to look for new ways to promote its economy. So the city councillors asked Pope Pius II to authorise a ‘university’ and a fair. The university was founded shortly afterwards in 1460. A solemn inaugural mass was held in the Basel Minster. The founding of a fair, on the other hand, progressed more slowly, as Basel first had to obtain an imperial fair privilege. As a result, the first Basel autumn fair did not take place until 27 October 1471. Since then, this fair has been held every year. So far, it has only been cancelled in 1721 and 1722 due to the plague, in 1831 due to a cholera epidemic and in 2020 due to coronavirus. The Basel Fair takes place at several locations in Basel. These include Münsterplatz, Messeplatz, Barfüsserplatz and Petersplatz.

... and now on towards the Botanical Garden.

The university's botanical garden is located right next to the Kollegienhaus. The garden is open daily and admission is free. The Botanical Garden was founded in 1589 by Caspar Bauhin, a Swiss physician, for study purposes and for the production of remedies. It was also originally located on the Rheinsprung in Basel. This makes it one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world and the oldest botanical garden in Switzerland. Incidentally, the oldest botanical garden in the world is in Padua (Italy). The botanical garden has only been located next to the Kollegienhaus since the 19th century, on an area that used to be a cemetery. The garden has four greenhouses and an outdoor area in which over 7500 plant species grow. In addition to plants, there are also various native bird species to admire in the outdoor area. If you don't want to discover the botanical garden on your own, you can also take part in the guided tours, which are also free of charge (https://botgarten.unibas.ch/de/fuehrungen/).

... and now it's down the road to the main library of the University of Basel.

The university library has five locations. The main library is located near the Botanical Gardens and offers literature on all subjects. Other locations specialising in specific subject areas are the Medical University Library, the Religion University Library, the Rosental University Library and the Business University Library. With the library card, which can be obtained at the information desk of the Main Library, you can borrow media from all university libraries. In addition to a stock of around 7.5 million media, the University Library Basel also provides around 400 workstations in various reading rooms. There are also separate study rooms. You can use these as a place to work efficiently, but unfortunately they cannot be reserved. The university library has officially existed since 1471, making it the oldest secular library in the world. It is definitely worth attending the library introduction at the start of the semester to get more information (https://ub.unibas.ch/de/schulungen/).

... next up is the Bernoullianum.

The Bernoullianum is a listed building of the University of Basel and was built between 1872 and 1874 to mark the 400th anniversary of natural sciences at the University of Basel. The building was named after the Bernoulli family, who settled in Basel at the beginning of the 17th century. This family produced several important and successful mathematicians, such as Daniel Bernoulli. Daniel Bernoulli worked with Leonhard Euler and developed the Bernoulli equation named after him. 

Another special feature of the Bernoullianum is the dome on the roof. It housed Basel's first observatory until 1928. The dome can only be seen if you look at the building from a distance. The Bernoullianum once housed the university's Institute of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy. Today, the Bernoullianum continues to house institutes of the University of Basel, such as that of Environmental Geosciences. The large lecture hall is still used for lectures and academic events. 

... next, we head to the university sports fitness centre for a change from everyday study life. 

If you play a sport and want to stay in shape in Basel, or if you want to learn a sport or meet other students, there is the University Sports Centre(https://universitaetssport.unibas.ch/sportbereiche). There is also the Unisport fitness centre. This fitness centre has two large training areas. Cardio machines, weight machines, free weights and small machines provide the necessary variation in training. A membership for students for 12 months costs 290 CHF. You can also register for a free, supervised trial training session to get to know the fitness centre. The conditions can be found on the Unisport Fitness Centre website (https://www.unibas.ch/de/Universitaet/Administration-Services/Vizerektorat-People-And-Culture/Universitaetssport/Fitnesscenter.html).

... From here you can choose one of the extensions depending on your interests and do it to find out more about Basel.