Aeschenplatz
| Aeschenplatz | |
|---|---|
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 View of the Aeschenplatz with the Basler Zeitung |
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| Basic data | |
| place | Basel |
| Created | 1885 |
| Confluent streets | Aeschengraben St.-Alban-Anlage St.-Jakob-Strasse Malzgasse Brünnleingasse Dufour-Strasse Aeschenvorstadt |
| Buildings | Bank for International Settlements (designed by Mario Botta), classicist building of the Basler Zeitung |
| use | |
| User groups | traffic |
The Aeschenplatz located in the center of the Swiss city of Basel . Aeschenplatz is one of the most important traffic junctions in the city. Seven different trams converge here. In addition, many banks and insurance companies have their branches on Aeschenplatz.
location
Aeschenplatz is between the main train station and the Rhine. It separates the Aeschengraben and the St. Alban-Anlage , an axis that runs from Basel Central Station to the northeast. St. Jakobs-Strasse, Malzgasse, Brunngässlein, Dufourstrasse and Aeschenvorstadt all flow into the square .
history
When the city wall was built in the 14th century, a fortified gate with a square floor plan was built on the site of today's square. Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was one of two gates to the city that was kept open even in times of war.
In 1858 the city decided to build the Centralbahnhof on Aeschenplatz. The customs house and the tower were torn down and only the city gate was left standing. But three years later, the Aeschentor also had to give way because it had become the bottleneck in urban traffic. The station was then built a few hundred meters to the west.
In 1895 the square was opened up by an electric tram. The construction of the 31 meter high tower house at the end of the 1920s sparked a debate in Basel about high-rise construction in the city.
In the following years, Aeschenplatz became one of the city's transport hubs. In the 1950s, thought was given to directing traffic over Aeschenplatz on two levels: The tram was to be moved underground. But the plans were rejected.
On April 24, 1947, the worst tram accident in Basel history occurred on Aeschenplatz . Coming from the station, a tram drove unchecked into a curve in the stop area. The motor vehicle collided with an oncoming tram and tipped its trailer from the rails. The second trailer of the train involved in the accident derailed, slid across the stop and rammed a waiting train. The accident claimed six lives.
use
Today Aeschenplatz is one of the most important traffic junctions in Basel. There is a large Basel tram stop on the square . Lines 3, 8, 14, 15 of Basler Verkehrsbetriebe and lines 10, 11 and E11 of Baselland Transport AG stop here . In addition, some bus lines stop here and car traffic is also directed through the square.
There is a kiosk in the center of the square and another at the eastern end of the square. The most striking building is a semicircular building designed by Mario Botta . This originally served as the headquarters of UBS and was taken over by the Bank for International Settlements as the second building next to the BIS tower . On the northeastern edge of the square is the modern Pax building of the Pax life insurance company and the classicist building of the Basler Zeitung . Also has bank Cler their headquarters here.
The little tram house in front of the main Migros Bank building was inaugurated in 1991 and is a gift from the bank. In addition, Bank Cler has its headquarters on the north of Aeschenplatz.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Das Aeschentor , Baslerbauten.ch, accessed on September 19, 2011
- ↑ a b c Tram Basel , independent website for the Basler Tram, accessed on September 19, 2011
- ↑ Bank Cler , Basel-Stadt Commercial Register , accessed on February 18, 2019
Coordinates: 47 ° 33 ′ 4 " N , 7 ° 35 ′ 43" E ; CH1903: 611792 / two hundred sixty-six thousand seven hundred twenty-two