Basel Town Hall

The Basel Town Hall

The Basel Town Hall (German: Rathaus Basel, locally known as Roothuus) is a five hundred years old building dominating the Marktplatz in Basel, Switzerland.

The Town Hall houses the meetings of the Cantonal Parliament as well as the Cantonal Government of the canton of Basel-Stadt.

The Great Council Chamber at one time featured a series of frescoes painted in 1522 by Hans Holbein the Younger however these have mostly been lost.[1][2] Fragments of the work as well as some of the initial drawings are kept in the Kunstmuseum.[3]

"Rathaus" literally means "council house" while the term "Roothus" in the local Basel German dialect means both "council house" but also sounds like "red house", a pun with reference to the red sandstone facade of the building.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gadi Algazi; Valentin Groebner; Bernhard Jussen (2003). Negotiating the Gift: Pre-Modern Figurations of Exchange. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 264–. ISBN 978-3-525-35186-4. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Britannica Educational Publishing (20 December 2009). The 100 Most Influential Painters & Sculptors of the Renaissance. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 286–. ISBN 978-1-61530-043-3. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Derek Wilson (26 September 2006). Hans Holbein: portrait of an unknown man. Pimlico. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-84413-918-7. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
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Coordinates: 47°33′30″N 7°35′18″E / 47.55833°N 7.58833°E