The Basel of 1501

At the moment of its accession, Basel was a city of about ten thousand inhabitants, governed by a council dominated by the guilds, with a university, a flourishing printing industry, paper mills, an imperial fair privilege, a rural territory acquired by purchase and pledge, a currency that it minted itself, a well-managed public debt and a reputation for good order. Three years later, in 1504, it would found the Stadtwechsel, its municipal exchange. Its bishop still resided in the city, but his temporal power was limited to his territories in the Jura. The Reformation would soon separate him from the city altogether.

The city was on the threshold of its golden age. In the first decades of the sixteenth century, Basel became one of the capitals of European humanism, the home of Erasmus, of the printers Froben and Amerbach, of the painter Hans Holbein the Younger, and a meeting place for scholars from all over Europe. Part B examines this period, the Reformation of 1529 that transformed the city's religious and moral order, and the arrival of the religious refugees who founded new industries and brought new capital.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.