113-470: The Basel Sinfonietta is a Swiss orchestra, based in Basel . The Basel Sinfonietta was founded in 1980, as a self-governing ensemble, by a group of young musicians with a focus on contemporary classical music . The orchestra has presented more than 50 world premieres, many of them commissioned by the orchestra itself, such as Siegel (2008) and Viaggiatori (2011) by Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini . The Sinfonietta
226-650: A castrum (fortified camp) was built on the site of the Celtic oppidum . In AD 83, the area was incorporated into the Roman province of Germania Superior . The Roman Senator Munatius Plancus is known as the traditional founder of Basel since the Renaissance. Roman control over the area deteriorated in the 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian . Basilia
339-493: A doge . His daughter Paulina suffered from mental illness and drug addiction. She died in 1930 at the age of 40 of a heroin overdose. His only son Hans was given a secular upbringing and the Herzls refused to allow him to be circumcised. On Herzl's early death, after reportedly being pressured to do so by his Zionist caretakers, Hans, then a ward , submitted to circumcision on 29 May 1905; he subsequently converted, resenting
452-707: A Jewish homeland in Palestine. A Heimstatte —a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine secured by public law. On 26 January 1904, Herzl was received in audience by Pope Pius X at the Holy See in Rome , in the hope of convincing the Vatican at supporting the Zionist movement. Pius X was respectful towards Herzl, but resolutely refused to support Zionism in any way. Herzl did not live to see
565-580: A Jewish homeland. His ideas attracted international attention and rapidly established Herzl as a major figure in the Jewish world. In 1897, Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel , Switzerland, and was elected president of the Zionist Organization. He began a series of diplomatic initiatives to build support for a Jewish state, appealing unsuccessfully to German emperor Wilhelm II and Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II . At
678-669: A Jewish state. Due to his Zionist work, he is known in Hebrew as Chozeh HaMedinah ( חוֹזֵה הַמְדִינָה ), lit. ' Visionary of the State ' . He is specifically mentioned in the Israeli Declaration of Independence and is officially referred to as "the spiritual father of the Jewish State". Herzl was born in Pest , Kingdom of Hungary , to a prosperous Neolog Jewish family. After
791-637: A brief legal career in Vienna , he became the Paris correspondent for the Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse . Confronted with antisemitic events in Vienna, he reached the conclusion that anti-Jewish sentiment would make Jewish assimilation impossible, and that the only solution for Jews was the establishment of a Jewish state . In 1896, Herzl published the pamphlet Der Judenstaat , in which he elaborated his visions of
904-414: A community of primarily Yiddish -speaking recent Eastern European Jewish immigrants, Herzl addressed a mass rally of thousands on 12 July 1896 and was received with acclaim. They granted Herzl the mandate of leadership for Zionism. Within six months this mandate had been expanded throughout Zionist Jewry: the Zionist movement grew rapidly. On 10 March 1896, Herzl was visited by Reverend William Hechler ,
1017-512: A despicable type of Jew and has often been described as antisemitic. In Der Judenstaat he writes: "The Jewish question persists wherever Jews live in appreciable numbers. Wherever it does not exist, it is brought in together with Jewish immigrants. We are naturally drawn into those places where we are not persecuted, and our appearance there gives rise to persecution. This is the case, and will inevitably be so, everywhere, even in highly civilised countries—see, for instance, France—so long as
1130-478: A flag of the Jewish state. Herzl Day ( Hebrew : יום הרצל ) is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of the Hebrew month of Iyar , to commemorate the life and vision of Zionist leader Theodor Herzl. Herzl's grandfathers, both of whom he knew, were more closely related to traditional Judaism than were his parents. In Zimony (Zemlin), his grandfather Simon Loeb Herzl "had his hands on" one of
1243-524: A handful of wealthy families collectively referred to as the "Daig" played a pivotal role in city affairs as they gradually established themselves as a de facto city aristocracy . The first edition of Christianae religionis institutio ( Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin 's great exposition of Calvinist doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536. In 1544, Johann von Brugge,
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#17328834805741356-786: A minister of state or a prince. Then the Jews will believe in me and follow me. The most suitable personage would be the German Kaiser." Hechler arranged an extended audience with Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden , in April 1896. The Grand Duke was the uncle of the German Emperor Wilhelm ;II . Through the efforts of Hechler and the Grand Duke, Herzl publicly met Wilhelm II in 1898 . The meeting significantly advanced Herzl's and Zionism's legitimacy in Jewish and world opinion. In May 1896,
1469-515: A name Basilia attested in northern France as a development of basilica , the term for a public or church building (as in Bazeilles ), but all of these names reference early church buildings of the 4th or 5th century and cannot be adduced for the 3rd-century attestation of Basilia . By popular etymology, or simple assonance, the basilisk becomes closely associated with the city, used as heraldic supporter from 1448, represented on coins minted by
1582-464: A relic, possibly attributed to Saint Germanus of Granfelden . This staff (known as Baselstab ) became a symbol representing the Basel diocese, depicted in bishops' seals of the late medieval period. It is represented in a heraldic context in the early 14th century, not yet as a heraldic charge but as a kind of heraldic achievement flanked by the heraldic shields of the bishop. The staff is also represented in
1695-508: A rich Dutch Protestant refugee, was given citizenship and lived respectably until his death in 1556, then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist David Joris . In 1543, De humani corporis fabrica , the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564). There are indications Joachim Meyer , author of
1808-753: A second formal, public audience with the emperor at the latter's tent camp on Street of the Prophets in Jerusalem on 2 November 1898. The English Zionist Federation, the local branch of the World Zionist Organization, was founded in 1899, after Herzl had established in Austria in 1897. In 1902–03, Herzl was invited to give evidence before the British Royal Commission on Alien Immigration. His appearance brought him into close contact with members of
1921-444: A strong attachment to his mother, who was unable to get along with his wife. These difficulties were increased by the political activities of his later years, in which his wife took little interest. Julie died in 1907, 3 years after Herzl, aged 39. Herzl imagined himself as a great statesman creating a dynasty for his family in Palestine once a Jewish state was established, where his father would be its foundational senator, and his son
2034-449: A suicide note explaining his reasons. "A Jew remains a Jew, no matter how eagerly he may submit himself to the disciplines of his new religion, how humbly he may place the redeeming cross upon his shoulders for the sake of his former coreligionists, to save them from eternal damnation: a Jew remains a Jew ... I can't go on living. I have lost all trust in God. All my life I've tried to strive for
2147-529: A symbol of Herzl's returning. Operation Agatha of 29 June 1946, precluded that possibility: local military and police fanned out throughout the Mandate and arrested Jewish activists. About 2,700 individuals were arrested. On 2 July, Norman wrote to Mrs.Stybovitz-Kahn in Haifa. Her father, Jacob Kahn, had been a good friend of Herzl and a well-known Dutch banker before the war. Norman wrote, "I intend to go to Palestine on
2260-598: A true Kulturvolk along the German lines. In 1878, after Pauline's death, the Herzl family moved to Vienna , Austria-Hungary, and lived in the 9th district, Alsergrund . At the University of Vienna, Herzl studied law. As a young law student, Herzl became a member of the German nationalist Burschenschaft (fraternity) Albia, which had the motto Ehre, Freiheit, Vaterland ("Honor, Freedom, Fatherland"). He later resigned in protest at
2373-522: Is May during which time Basel receives an average of 98 mm (3.9 in) of rain. The month with the most days of precipitation is also May, with an average of 11.7 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 45 mm (1.8 in) of precipitation over 8.4 days. The city of Basel functions as the capital of the Swiss half-canton of Basel-Stadt . The canton Basel-Stadt consists of three municipalities: Riehen , Bettingen , and
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#17328834805742486-578: Is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the River Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine ). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva ), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits. The official language of Basel is Swiss Standard German and the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect. Basel is commonly considered to be
2599-562: Is best to scrap it." In 2006 the remains of Paulina and Hans were moved from Bordeaux , France, and reburied not far from their father on Mt. Herzl. Paulina and Hans had little contact with their young sister, "Trude" (Margarethe, 1893–1943). She married Richard Neumann, a man 17 years her elder. Neumann lost his fortune in the Great Depression . Burdened by the steep costs of hospitalizing Trude, who suffered from severe bouts of depressive illness that required repeated hospitalization,
2712-716: Is first named by the Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae as part of the Roman military fortifications along the Rhine in the late 4th century. The Germanic confederation of the Alemanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in the 4th century, but were repelled; one such event was the Battle of Solicinium (368). However, in the great invasion of AD 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed
2825-446: Is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.67 km (7.98 sq mi) or 86.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.45 km (0.56 sq mi) or 6.1% is either rivers or lakes. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 10.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 40.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 24.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of
2938-708: Is located in Northwestern Switzerland and is commonly considered to be the capital of that region. It is close to the point where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, and Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. As of 2016 , the Swiss Basel agglomeration was the third-largest in Switzerland, with a population of 541,000 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland (municipal count as of 2018). The metropolitan area , called
3051-640: Is the only Swiss orchestra to have been invited four times to participate in the famous Austrian Salzburger Festspiele . The orchestra has performed at festivals such as the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik , the Lucerne Festival , the Biennale di Venezia , Musica Strasbourg, the Festival d'Automne Paris and Kunstfest Weimar . Baldur Brönnimann became the first-ever principal conductor of
3164-551: The Anglican minister to the British Embassy in Vienna. Hechler had read Herzl's Der Judenstaat , and the meeting became central to the eventual legitimization of Herzl and Zionism. Herzl later wrote in his diary, "Next we came to the heart of the business. I said to him: (Theodor Herzl to Rev. William Hechler) I must put myself into direct and publicly known relations with a responsible or non responsible ruler – that is, with
3277-433: The Basel massacre . The Basel earthquake of 1356 destroyed much of the city along with a number of castles in the vicinity. A riot on 26 February 1376, known as Böse Fasnacht , led to the killing of a number of men of Leopold III, Duke of Austria . This was seen as a serious breach of the peace , and the city council blamed "foreign ruffians" for this and executed twelve alleged perpetrators. Leopold nevertheless had
3390-776: The British Army rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Artillery . In late 1945 and early 1946 he took the opportunity to visit the British Mandate of Palestine "to see what my grandfather had started." He wrote in his diary extensively about his trip. What most impressed him was the "look of freedom" on the faces of the children, which were not like the sallow look of those from the concentration camps of Europe. Norman planned to return to Palestine following his military discharge. The Zionist Executive had worked for years through L. Lauterbach to get Norman to come to Palestine as
3503-614: The First Zionist Congress in Basel , Switzerland. He was elected president of the Congress (a position he held until his death in 1904), and in 1898 he began a series of diplomatic initiatives to build support for a Jewish country. He was received by Wilhelm II on several occasions, one of them in Jerusalem , and attended the Hague Peace Conference , enjoying a warm reception from many statesmen there. His work on Autoemancipation
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3616-701: The French Revolutionary Wars . In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel from 29 August through 31 August 1897. Because of the Balkan Wars , the (Socialist) Second International held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912. In 1989, the Basel Convention was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of hazardous waste from wealthy to developing nations for disposal. Basel
3729-529: The Judenstaat . Pinsker's manifesto was a cry for help; a warning to others Mahnruf , a call for attention to their plight. Herzl's vision was less about mental states of Jewry, and more about delivering prescriptive answers about land. "The idea that I have developed is a very old one; it is the restoration of the Jewish State" was a follow-up of Pinsker's early weaker version Mahnruf an seine Stammesgenossen von einem nassichen Juden . Herzl visited Jerusalem for
3842-674: The Neue Freie Presse . Herzl presented his proposal to the Grand Vizier: the Jews would pay the Turkish foreign debt and help Turkey regain its financial footing in return for Palestine as a Jewish homeland. Prior to leaving Istanbul, 29 June 1896, Herzl was granted a symbolic medal of honor. The medal, the "Commander's Cross of the Order of the Medjidie ," was a public relations affirmation for Herzl and
3955-688: The Sixth Zionist Congress in 1903, Herzl presented the Uganda Scheme , endorsed by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain on behalf of the British government. The proposal, which sought to create a temporary refuge for the Jews in British East Africa following the Kishinev pogrom , was met with strong opposition and ultimately rejected. Herzl died of a heart ailment in 1904 at the age of 44, and
4068-468: The Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel (TEB), consists of 62 suburban communes including municipalities in neighboring countries, and counted 829,000 inhabitants in 2007. Basel has an area, as of 2009 , of 23.91 square kilometers (9.23 sq mi). Of this area, 0.95 km (0.37 sq mi) or 4.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.88 km (0.34 sq mi) or 3.7%
4181-521: The Zoo Basel , opened its doors in the south of the city towards Binningen . In 1897 the first World Zionist Congress was held in Basel. Altogether the World Zionist Congress was held in Basel ten times, more than in any other city in the world. On 16 November 1938, the psychedelic drug LSD was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel. In 1967,
4294-463: The " Uganda Project " and Herzl presented it to the Sixth Zionist Congress (Basel, August 1903), where a majority (295:178, 98 abstentions) agreed to investigating this offer. The proposal faced strong opposition particularly from the Russian delegation who stormed out of the meeting. In 1905 the 7th Zionist Congress, after investigations, decided to decline the British offer and firmly committed itself to
4407-558: The 'Problem of the Jews .' Beginning in late 1895, Herzl wrote Der Judenstaat ( The State of the Jews ), which was published February 1896 to immediate acclaim and controversy. The book argued that the Jewish people should leave Europe for Palestine, their historic homeland. The Jews possessed a nationality; all they were missing was a nation and a state of their own. Only through a Jewish state could they avoid antisemitism, express their culture freely and practice their religion without hindrance. Herzl's ideas spread rapidly throughout
4520-411: The 11th to 12th century, Basel gradually acquired the characteristics of a medieval city . The main market place is first mentioned in 1091. The first city walls were constructed around 1100 (with improvements made in the mid-13th and in the late 14th century). A city council of nobles and burghers is recorded for 1185, and the first mayor , Heinrich Steinlin of Murbach, for 1253. The first bridge across
4633-534: The 20th century also Hermann Hesse and Karl Jaspers . Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since the Renaissance , and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century. In 1897, Basel was chosen by Theodor Herzl as
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4746-777: The Bishop of Basel was added to the Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes of the Imperial Diet . In 1500 the construction of the Basel Münster was finished. The city had remained neutral through the Swabian War of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The Treaty of Basel ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland de facto from
4859-489: The British government, particularly with Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain through whom he negotiated with the Egyptian government for a charter for the settlement of the Jews in Al 'Arish in the Sinai Peninsula , adjoining southern Palestine. The project was blocked as impractical by Lord Cromer , the Consul General in Egypt. In 1902 he wrote a letter to Cecil Rhodes , attempting to get his support for Jewish state. Then in 1903, Herzl attempted to obtain support for
4972-426: The Chief Rabbis of France and Vienna, the German financier Maurice de Hirsch who had created the Jewish Colonization Association in 1891 to encourage mass emigration of Russian Jews to North and South America, and would later be repurposed as the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association in 1924, and especially French philanthropist and art collector Edmond James de Rothschild who was already independently funding
5085-410: The English translation of Der Judenstaat appeared in London as The Jewish State . Herzl had earlier confessed to his friend Max Bodenheimer that he "wrote what I had to say without knowing my predecessors, and it can be assumed that I would not have written it [ Der Judenstaat ] had I been familiar with the literature." In Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, 15 June 1896, Herzl saw an opportunity. With
5198-486: The German ideal of Bildung , whereby reading great works of literature by Goethe and Shakespeare could allow one to appreciate the beautiful things in life and thus become a morally better person (the Bildung theory tended to equate beauty with goodness). Herzl believed that through Bildung Hungarian Jews such as himself could shake off their "shameful Jewish characteristics" caused by long centuries of impoverishment and oppression, and become civilized Central Europeans,
5311-454: The Holy Roman Empire. On 9 June 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its eleventh canton . It was the only canton that was asked to join, not the other way round. Basel had a strategic location, good relations with Strasbourg and Mulhouse , and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among
5424-475: The Jewish homeland from Pope Pius X , an idea broached at 6th Zionist Congress . Palestine could offer a safe refuge for those fleeing persecution in Russia. Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val ordained that the Church's policy was explained non possumus on such matters, decreeing that as long as the Jews denied the divinity of Christ, the Catholics could not make a declaration in their favour. In 1903, following Kishinev pogrom , Herzl visited St. Petersburg and
5537-575: The Jewish question is not solved on the political level." The book concludes: Therefore I believe that a wondrous generation of Jews will spring into existence. The Maccabeans will rise again. Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who wish for a State will have it. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes. The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for
5650-434: The Jewish world and attracted international attention. Supporters of existing Zionist movements, such as the Hovevei Zion , immediately allied themselves with him, but he also encountered bitter opposition from members of the Orthodox community and those seeking to integrate in non-Jewish society. His notorious article Mauschel , published just after the first Zionist Congress, depicted Jews who oppose Zionism as constituting
5763-410: The Jewish world of the seriousness of the negotiations. On 1 March 1899 Yousef Al-Khalidi , the mayor of Jerusalem, sent a letter to Zadok Kahn , the chief rabbi of France, with the intention to reach Herzl and ask Zionists to leave the area of Palestine in peace. Al-Khalidi was very familiar with Zionist thought, and the anti-Semitic environment in Europe out of which it emerged. He also perceived
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#17328834805745876-416: The Neumanns' financial life was precarious. The Nazis sent Trude and Richard to the Theresienstadt concentration camp where they died. Her body was burned . Her mother, who died in 1907, was cremated, and her ashes were lost by accident. At the request of his father Richard Neumann, Trude's son (Herzl's only grandchild), Stephan Theodor Neumann (1918–1946), was sent for his safety to England in 1935 to
5989-434: The Old City, and likely identical with the town of Arialbinnum that was mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana ). The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an oppidum on the site of Basel Minster , probably in reaction to the Roman invasion of Gaul . In Roman Gaul , Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km (12 mi) from Basel as the regional administrative centre, while
6102-442: The Ottoman Empire and the non-Jewish population of Palestine would benefit from Jewish immigration. As to al-Khalidi concerns about the non-Jewish majority population of Palestine, Herzl replied rhetorically: "who would think of sending them away?" and concluded ambiguously that "If he (the Ottoman Sultan) will not accept it, we will search and, believe me, we will find elsewhere what we need." Rashid Khalidi notes that this sentiment
6215-422: The Rhine a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau . The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century. The Alemannic and Frankish settlement of Basel gradually grew around the old Roman castle in the 6th and 7th century. It appears that Basel surpassed the ancient regional capital of Augusta Raurica by the 7th century; based on
6328-436: The Rhine was built in 1225 under bishop Heinrich von Thun (at the location of the modern Middle Bridge ), and from this time the settlement of Kleinbasel gradually formed around the bridgehead on the far river bank. The bridge was largely funded by Basel's Jewish community who had settled there a century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river "between Lake Constance and
6441-482: The Viennese Zionists and the Zionist Executive in Israel based there . The Neumanns deeply feared for the safety of their only child as violent Austrian antisemitism expanded. In England he read extensively about his grandfather. Zionism had not been a significant part of his background in Austria, but Stephan became an ardent Zionist, was the only descendant of Theodor Herzl to have become one. Anglicizing his name to Stephen Norman, during World War II, Norman enlisted in
6554-416: The Viennese stage. His early work did not focus on Jewish life. It was of the feuilleton order, descriptive rather than political. As the Paris correspondent for Neue Freie Presse , Herzl followed the Dreyfus affair , a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. It was a notorious antisemitic incident in France in which a Jewish French army captain
6667-652: The Zionist movement could work to improve Abdul Hamid II's reputation and shore up the empire's finances. Bernard Lazare harshly criticized this position, arguing that Herzl and other delegates of the Zionist Congress "have sent their blessing to the worst of murderers." Returning from Istanbul, Herzl traveled to London to report back to the Maccabeans , a proto-Zionist group of established English Jews led by Colonel Albert Goldsmid . In November 1895 they received him with curiosity, indifference and coldness. Israel Zangwill bitterly opposed Herzl, but after Istanbul, Goldsmid agreed to support Herzl. In London's East End ,
6780-671: The area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 8.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 2.5% is used for growing crops and 1.3% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Under the Köppen system , Basel features an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ), although with notable continental influences due to its relatively far inland position with cool to cold, overcast winters and warm to hot, humid summers. The city averages 118.2 days of rain or snow annually and on average receives 842 mm (33.1 in) of precipitation . The wettest month
6893-415: The assistance of Count Philip Michael von Nevlinski, a Polish émigré with political contacts in the Ottoman Court, Herzl attempted to meet Sultan Abdulhamid II in order to present his solution of a Jewish State to the Sultan directly. He failed to obtain an audience but did succeed in visiting a number of highly placed individuals, including the Grand Vizier, who received him as a journalist representing
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#17328834805747006-415: The behest of Zionist leaders, read the kaddish . First buried at the Viennese cemetery in the district of Döbling , his remains were brought to Israel in 1949 and buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem , which was named after him. The coffin was draped in a blue and white pall decorated with a Star of David circumscribing a Lion of Judah and seven gold stars recalling Herzl's original proposal for
7119-426: The bishop and from the Habsburgs and was free to pursue its own policy of territorial expansion, beginning around 1400. The unique representation of a bishops' crozier as the heraldic charge in the coat of arms of Basel first appears in the form of a gilded wooden staff in the 12th century. It is of unknown origin or significance (beyond its obvious status of bishop's crozier), but it is assumed to have represented
7232-502: The bishops's seals of the period. The use of the Baselstab in black as the coat of arms of the city was introduced in 1385. From this time, the Baselstab in red represented the bishop, and the same charge in black represented the city. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is In Silber ein schwarzer Baselstab (Argent, a staff of Basel sable). In 1400, Basel was able to purchase the towns of Liestal , Homburg and Waldenburg with its surrounding territory. In 1412 (or earlier),
7345-425: The city Basel itself. The political structure and agencies of the city and the canton are identical. Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist, lawyer, writer, playwright and political activist who was the father of modern political Zionism . Herzl formed the Zionist Organization and promoted Jewish immigration to Palestine in an effort to form
7458-466: The city placed under imperial ban , and in a treaty of 9 July, Basel was given a heavy fine and was placed under Habsburg control. To free itself from Habsburg hegemony, Basel joined the Swabian League of Cities in 1385, and many knights of the pro-Habsburg faction, along with duke Leopold himself, were killed in the Battle of Sempach the following year. A formal treaty with Habsburg was made in 1393. Basel had gained its de facto independence from both
7571-533: The city was for all practical purposes independent although it continued to nominally pledge fealty to the bishops. The House of Habsburg attempted to gain control over the city. This was not successful, but it caused a political split among the burghers of Basel into a pro-Habsburg faction, known as Sterner , and an anti-Habsburg faction, the Psitticher . The Black Death reached Basel in 1348. The Jews were blamed , and an estimated 50 to 70 Jews were executed by burning on 16 January 1349 in what has become known as
7684-403: The city, and frequently found in ornaments. The Middle French form Basle was adopted into English, but this form has fallen gradually out of use although it continues to be used in some sections of British English including the BBC . Currently, the spelling Basel is most often used, to match the official German spelling. In French Basle was still in use in the 18th century, but
7797-454: The city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. The University of Basel , Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460), and the city's centuries-long commitment to humanism , have made Basel a safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as Erasmus of Rotterdam , the Holbein family, Friedrich Nietzsche , Carl Jung , and in
7910-415: The craving for literary success and a desire to act as a public figure. Around this time, Herzl started writing pamphlets about A Jewish State . Herzl claimed that these pamphlets resulted in the establishment of the Zionist Movement, and they did play a large role in the movement's rise and success. His testimony before the British Royal Commission reflected his fundamental, romantic liberal view on life as
8023-451: The cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums , including the Kunstmuseum , which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland , the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen ), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art , which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout
8136-536: The danger Zionism could expose Jews to throughout the domains of the Ottoman Empire. According to scholars Rashid Khalidi , Alexander Scholch and Dominique Perrin , Al-Khalidi was prescient in predicting that, regardless of Jewish historic rights, given the geopolitical context, Zionism could stir an awakening of Arab nationalism uniting Christians and Muslims. Kahn showed the letter to Theodor Herzl and on 19 March 1899 Herzl replied to al-Khalidi arguing that both
8249-459: The establishment of Jewish colonies in Ottoman Palestine, and to whom Herzl wrote a 65-page long pitch in 1895. He fared best with Israel Zangwill , and Max Nordau . They were both well-known writers or 'men of letters'—imagination that engenders understanding. The correspondence to Hirsch, who had died in 1896, led nowhere. Baron Albert Rothschild had little to do with the Jews. Herzl
8362-472: The evidence of a gold tremissis (a small gold coin with the value of a third of a solidus ) with the inscription Basilia fit , Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Basel at this time was part of the Archdiocese of Besançon . A separate bishopric of Basel , replacing the ancient bishopric of Augusta Raurica , was established in the 8th century. Under bishop Haito (r. 806–823),
8475-610: The first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle (replaced by a Romanesque structure consecrated in 1019). At the partition of the Carolingian Empire through the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Basel was first given to West Francia and became its German exclave. It passed to East Francia with the Treaty of Meerssen of 870. Basel was destroyed by the Magyars in 917. The rebuilt town became part of Upper Burgundy , and as such
8588-529: The first copies of Judah Alkalai 's 1857 work prescribing the "return of the Jews to the Holy Land and renewed glory of Jerusalem." Contemporary scholars conclude that Herzl's own implementation of modern Zionism was undoubtedly influenced by that relationship. Herzl's grandparents' graves in Semlin can still be visited. Alkalai himself witnessed the rebirth of Serbia from Ottoman rule in the early and mid-19th century and
8701-460: The first time in October 1898. He deliberately coordinated his visit with that of Wilhelm II to secure what he thought had been prearranged with the aid of Rev. William Hechler , namely public world power recognition of himself and Zionism. Herzl and Wilhelm II first met publicly on 29 October, at Mikveh Israel , near present-day Holon , Israel. It was a brief but historic meeting. He had
8814-624: The footsteps of Ferdinand de Lesseps , builder of the Suez Canal , but did not succeed in the sciences and instead developed a growing enthusiasm for poetry and humanities. This passion later developed into a successful career in journalism and a less-celebrated pursuit of playwrighting. According to Amos Elon , as a young man, Herzl was an ardent Germanophile who saw the Germans as the best Kulturvolk (cultured people) in Central Europe and embraced
8927-547: The good of humanity. Herzl began to energetically promote his ideas, continually attracting supporters, Jewish and non-Jewish. According to Norman Rose, Herzl "mapped out for himself the role of martyr ... as the Parnell of the Jews." Herzl saw an opportunity in the mid-1890s anti-Armenian Hamidian massacres which severely tarnished the public image of the sultan in Europe. He proposed that in exchange for Jewish settlement in Palestine,
9040-643: The influential 16th-century martial arts text Kunst des Fechten ("The Art of Fencing"), came from Basel. In 1661 the Amerbaschsches Kabinett , a vast collection of exotic artifacts, coins, medals and books was purchased by Basel. It was to become to the first public museum of art. Its collection became the core of the later Basel Museum of Art . The Bernoulli family, which included important 17th- and 18th-century mathematicians such as Jakob Bernoulli , Johann Bernoulli and Daniel Bernoulli , were from Basel. The 18th-century mathematician Leonhard Euler
9153-529: The location for the first World Zionist Congress , and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location. The city is also home to the world headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements . The name of the city is internationally known through institutions like the Basel Accords , Art Basel and FC Basel . Basel is Switzerland's main centre for
9266-415: The only way to avoid it was the establishment of a Jewish state. In June 1895, he wrote in his diary: "In Paris, as I have said, I achieved a freer attitude toward anti-semitism ... Above all, I recognized the emptiness and futility of trying to 'combat' anti-semitism." Herzl's editors at Neue Freie Presse refused any publication of his Zionist political activities. A mental clash gripped Herzl, between
9379-503: The orchestra in 2016. Brönnimann is scheduled to stand down as principal conductor at the close of the 2022-2023 season. In December 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Titus Engel as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season. This article on a classical orchestra is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Basel Basel ( / ˈ b ɑː z əl / BAH -zəl ; German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ), also known as Basle ,
9492-480: The organisation's antisemitism . After a brief legal career in the University of Vienna and Salzburg , he devoted himself to journalism and literature , working as a journalist for a Viennese newspaper and a correspondent for Neue Freie Presse , in Paris, occasionally making special trips to London and Istanbul . He later became literary editor of Neue Freie Presse , and wrote several comedies and dramas for
9605-445: The other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation. In 1503, the new bishop Christoph von Utenheim refused to give Basel a new constitution; whereupon, to show its power, the city began to build a new city hall. In 1529, the city became Protestant under Oecolampadius and the bishop's seat was moved to Porrentruy . The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms. For centuries to come,
9718-459: The pharmaceutical industry, hosting both Novartis and Roche . In 2019 Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by Mercer . The name of Basel is first recorded as Basilia in the 3rd century (237/8), at the time referring to the Roman castle . This name is mostly interpreted as deriving from the personal name Basilius , from a toponym villa Basilia (" estate of Basilius") or similar. Another suggestion derives it from
9831-504: The poorest-class funeral without speeches or flowers and he added, "I wish to be buried in the vault beside my father, and to lie there till the Jewish people shall take my remains to Israel." Nevertheless, some six thousand followed Herzl's hearse, and the funeral was long and chaotic. Despite Herzl's request that no speeches be made, a brief eulogy was delivered by David Wolffsohn . Hans Herzl, then thirteen, who by his father's choice had not been circumcised at birth, and only did so later at
9944-416: The population of Basel voted in favor of buying three works of art by painter Pablo Picasso which were at risk of being sold and taken out of the local museum of art, due to a financial crisis on the part of the owner's family. Therefore, Basel became the first city in the world where the population of a political community democratically decided to acquire works of art for a public institution. Pablo Picasso
10057-536: The process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.' On 17 May 1901, Herzl met with Sultan Abdul Hamid II , who turned down Herzl's offer to consolidate the Ottoman debt in exchange for a charter allowing the Zionists access to Palestine . In 1897, at considerable personal expense, he founded the Zionist newspaper Die Welt in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, and planned
10170-562: The rejection of the Uganda plan. At 5 p.m. 3 July 1904, in Edlach, a village inside Reichenau an der Rax , Lower Austria , Theodor Herzl, having been diagnosed with a heart issue earlier in the year, died of cardiac sclerosis . A day before his death, he told the Reverend William H. Hechler : "Greet Palestine for me. I gave my heart's blood for my people." His will stipulated that he should have
10283-420: The sea". The first city guild were the furriers , established in 1226. A total of about fifteen guilds were established in the course of the 13th century, reflecting the increasing economic prosperity of the city. The Crusade of 1267 set out from Basel. Political conflicts between the bishops and the burghers began in the mid-13th century and continued throughout the 14th century. By the late 14th century,
10396-455: The social ghetto enforced on Western Jews. According to Henry Wickham Steed , Herzl was initially "fanatically devoted to the propagation of Jewish-German 'Liberal' assimilationist doctrine." However, Herzl came to reject his early ideas regarding Jewish emancipation and assimilation and to believe that the Jews must remove themselves from Europe. Herzl grew to believe that antisemitism could not be defeated or cured, only avoided, and that
10509-433: The truth, and must admit today at the end of the road that there is nothing but disappointment. Tonight I have said Kaddish for my parents—and for myself, the last descendant of the family. There is nobody who will say Kaddish for me, who went out to find peace—and who may find peace soon ... My instinct has latterly gone all wrong, and I have made one of those irreparable mistakes, which stamp a whole life with failure. Then it
10622-403: The way he had been persuaded to be circumcised, and became successively a Baptist, then a Catholic, and flirted with other Protestant denominations. He sought a personal salvation for his own religious needs and a universal solution, as had his father, to Jewish suffering caused by antisemitism. Hans shot himself to death on the day of his sister Paulina's funeral; he was 39 years old. Hans left
10735-401: The well-known Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen was established. Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th century Council of Basel (1431–1449), including the 1439 election of antipope Felix V . In 1459, Pope Pius II endowed the University of Basel , where such notables as Erasmus of Rotterdam and Paracelsus later taught. At the same time the new craft of printing
10848-455: The widely held belief for some time. However, some modern scholars now believe that – due to little mention of the Dreyfus affair in Herzl's earlier accounts and a seemingly contrary reference he made in them to shouts of "Death to the traitor!" – he may have exaggerated the influence it had on him in order to create further support for his goals. Jacques Kornberg claims that the Dreyfus influence
10961-505: Was introduced to Basel by apprentices of Johann Gutenberg . In 1461, the land around Farnsburg became a part of Basel. The Schwabe publishing house was founded in 1488 by Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business. Johann Froben also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by Erasmus. In 1495, Basel was incorporated into the Upper Rhenish Imperial Circle ;
11074-517: Was a highly successful businessman. He had a sister, Pauline, who was a year older; she died of typhus on 7 February 1878. Theodor lived with his family in a house next to the Dohány Street Synagogue (formerly known as Tabakgasse Synagogue) located in Belváros , the inner city of the historical old town of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest. In his youth, Herzl was aspired to follow
11187-449: Was a myth that Herzl did not feel necessary to deflate and that he also believed that Dreyfus was guilty. Another modern claim is that, while upset by antisemitism evident in French society, Herzl, like most contemporary observers, initially believed Dreyfus was guilty and only claimed to have been inspired by the affair years later when it had become an international cause célèbre . Rather, it
11300-550: Was born in Basel and studied under Johann Bernoulli. In 1792, the Republic of Rauracia , a revolutionary French client republic , was created. It lasted until 1793. After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of Basel-Landschaft . Between 1861 and 1878 the city walls were slighted . On 3 July 1874, Switzerland's first zoo,
11413-521: Was buried in Vienna. In 1949, his remains were taken to Israel and reinterred on Mount Herzl . Theodor Herzl was born in the Dohány utca ( Tabakgasse in German), a street in the Jewish quarter of Pest (now eastern part of Budapest ), Kingdom of Hungary (now Hungary), to a Neolog Jewish family. He was the second child of Jeanette and Jakob Herzl, who were German-speaking, assimilated Jews. Herzl stated he
11526-412: Was disliked by the bankers (Finanzjuden) and detested them. Herzl was defiant of their social authority. He also shared Pinsker's pessimistic opinion that the Jews had no future in Europe; that they were too antisemitic to tolerate because each country in Europe had tried antisemitic assimilation. In Berlin they said Juden raus in a well worn phrase. Herzl therefore advocated a mass exodus from Europe to
11639-466: Was drawn to the mawkishness of Judaism rendered distinctively as German. But he remained convinced that Germany was the centre (Hauptsitz) of antisemitism rather than France. In a much quoted aside he noted "If there is one thing I should like to be, it is a member of old Prussian nobility." Herzl appealed to the nobility of Jewish England—the Rothschilds , Sir Samuel Montagu , later cabinet minister, to
11752-405: Was falsely convicted of spying for Germany . Herzl was witness to mass rallies in Paris following the Dreyfus trial. There has been some controversy surrounding the impact that this event had on Herzl and his conversion to Zionism. Herzl himself stated that the Dreyfus case turned him into a Zionist and that he was particularly affected by chants of "Death to the Jews!" from the crowds. This had been
11865-456: Was gradually replaced by the modern French spelling Bâle . In Icelandic, the city is recorded as Buslaraborg in the 12th-century itinerary Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan . There are traces of a settlement at the nearby Rhine knee from the early La Tène period (5th century BC). In the 2nd century BC, there was a village of the Raurici at the site of Basel-Gasfabrik (to the northwest of
11978-626: Was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. From the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II of Metz in 999 until the Reformation , Basel was ruled by Prince-Bishops . In 1019, the construction of the cathedral of Basel (known locally as the Münster ) began under Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor . In
12091-466: Was inspired by the Serbian uprising and subsequent re-creation of Serbia. On 25 June 1889, he married Julie Naschauer, the 21-year-old daughter of a wealthy Jewish businessman in Vienna. The marriage was unhappy, although three children were born to it: Paulina, Hans and Margaritha (Trude). One of his biographers suggests that Herzl infected his wife with gonorrhea which he contracted in 1880. Herzl had
12204-475: Was of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic lineage, predominantly through his paternal line and to a lesser extent through the maternal line, but there is no evidence for the claim of Sephardic origins. His father's family had migrated from Zimony (today Zemun , Serbia ), to Bohemia in 1739, where they were required to Germanize their family name Loebl (from Hebrew lev , 'heart') to Herzl (diminutive of Ger. Herz ; 'little heart'). Herzl's father Jakob (1836–1902)
12317-483: Was penned 4 years after Herzl had confided to his diary the idea of spiriting away the population of whatever country was chosen for a future Jewish state to make way for Jews: We must expropriate gently the private property on the estates assigned to us. We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country The property owners will come over to our side. Both
12430-448: Was pre-figured by a similar conclusion drawn by Marx's friend Moses Hess , in Rome and Jerusalem (1862). Leon Pinsker had never yet read it, but was aware of the distant and far off Hibbat Zion . Herzl's philosophical instruction highlighted the weaknesses and vulnerabilities. To Herzl each dictator or leader had a nationalistic identity, even down to the Irish from Wolfe Tone onwards. He
12543-462: Was received by Sergei Witte , then finance minister, and Viacheslav Plehve , minister of the interior, the latter placing on record the attitude of his government toward the Zionist movement. On that occasion Herzl submitted proposals for the amelioration of the Jewish position in Russia. At the same time Joseph Chamberlain floated the idea of a Jewish Colony in what is now Kenya. The plan became known as
12656-607: Was so moved by the gesture that he subsequently gifted the city with an additional three paintings. Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel (1499) ended the Swabian War . Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation . The Peace of Basel in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition against France during
12769-447: Was the rise to power of the antisemitic demagogue Karl Lueger in Vienna in 1895 that seems to have had a greater effect on Herzl, before the pro-Dreyfus campaign had fully emerged. It was at this time that Herzl wrote his play "The New Ghetto," which shows the ambivalence and lack of real security and equality of emancipated, well-to-do Jews in Vienna. The protagonist is an assimilated Jewish lawyer who tries unsuccessfully to break through
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