Basel

After a short flight from London we arrived in the ancient Swiss town of Basel. The only place I have been where you can see three countries within 100 yards of each other. Arrived at the ship to find that we had to wait until 3 o'clock before we could get into our cabin, so we decided to go on the organised tour of the town. Dodged the showers and managed to get a few pics.

The Basel Münster (Basler Münster) is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof. The Münster is listed as a heritage site of national significance.

Originally a Catholic cathedral and today a reformed Protestant church, it was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles. The late Romanesque building was destroyed by the 1356 Basel earthquake and rebuilt by Johannes Gmünd, who was at the same time employed for building the Freiburg Münster. This building was extended from 1421 by Ulrich von Ensingen, architect of the cathedral towers at Ulm and Strasbourg. The southern tower was completed in 1500 by Hans von Nußdorf.