intrepid
Nothing of this gem remains today
In terms of international tourism, hotels in Basel are just emerging from the ground. Some are long gone. For example, the bear had to give way to an unidentified office building.
published
The old Hotel zum Bären was located at Aeschenvorstadt 55 until 1976. Today you can’t see anything from it anymore.
Basel City Book
The anonymous office building gave way to the jewel. And where it used to be the Bear Beer Hall, there is now a burger joint.
20 minutes / Emily Shearer
The Grand Hotel “Victoria & National” on Centralbahnplatz, as presented on a postcard from circa 1930.
Private Collection / Basel City Book
Hotel Victoria at SBB train station still looks the same with a few minor exceptions.
20 minutes / Emily Shearer
Hotel “Continental” (left) and Hotel “Jura” (right) on Centralbahnplatz, circa 1910.
Private Collection / Basel City Book
The hotels are gone, but the row facade of the buildings has been preserved.
20 minutes / Emily Shearer
The Hotel “Europäischer Hof” in Steinenvorstadt circa 1912.
Private Collection / Basel City Book
This building has also been preserved, while the surroundings look very different today.
20 minutes / Emily Shearer
“Golden Gate to Switzerland” – this is how Basel treated tourists more than 100 years ago who were supposed to enjoy the city’s mild climate and art galleries.
A set of stickers from the Basel School of Design
Also in the 1940s, Basel marketed itself as a city of culture. The label has stuck to it to this day.
A set of stickers from the Basel School of Design
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The formerly beautiful Gasthaus zum Bären has been replaced by an inconspicuous office building.
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Many hotels in Basel have either changed hands or disappeared altogether.
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City Book takes a look at the early days of leisure tourism in Basel.
Until 1976, where there is now an unidentified office building in Basel’s Aeschenvorstadt, was the pretty city hotel “Zum Bären”. With a tweet, the Basel City book reminds of the former hotel and temporary Christian hospice, of which only a photo remains. The 100-bed inn has “restaurant spots” and beer lounges, and guests can also enjoy billiards or a bowling alley.
It’s not the only hotel that has changed. Also on Centralbahnplatz, some former neat youth hostels have given way to offices. Burger King is now at home within the walls of Continental. Others, like Victoria, have suffered to this day.
Tourism boom thanks to the railway connection
These hotels are relics of a time when Basel was connected to international long-distance traffic from the mid-19th century thanks to rail and steamboat connections. Travelers from the north who wanted to travel to the Swiss mountains had no choice but to stop in Basel. This made Basel the “Golden Gate to Switzerland” and marked the beginning of leisure tourism on the knees of the Rhine.
They advertise everything Basel has to offer. The city is “scenic on the Rhine” and attracts with its “mild, fog-free climate” and “exciting excursions”. The zoo and galleries Holbein and Böcklin should also attract guests. As a museum city, Basel’s tourist destination has survived to this day.
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