Mug Shot — «Basel - Rhine Ferryboat»

City: Basel Country: Switzerland Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 477 users (25 trading, 152 seeking)

Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. In 2011, the Basel agglomeration was the third largest in Switzerland. Located in northwest Switzerland on the river Rhine, Basel functions as a major industrial centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The Basel region, culturally extending into German Baden-Württemberg and French Alsace, reflects the heritage of its three states in the modern Latin name: "Regio TriRhena". It has the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation (1460). Basel is German-speaking. The local variant of the Swiss German dialects is called Basel German. Basel is among the most important cultural centres of Switzerland. The city comprises a large number of theatres and many museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the world's oldest art collection accessible to the public. In addition the Theater Basel was chosen in 1999 as the best stage for German-language performances and in 2009 & 2010 as "Opera of the Year" by German Opera Magazine "Opernwelt".

In the city of Basel on Switzerland’s northwest corner where the Rhine river makes a few wide turns cutting through the old medieval town, four unique ferry boats have been carrying passengers across the river for over 150 years. The historic ferries of Basel have no motors, hand-operated by tiller, they cross the Rhine by tacking against the current, held in position by a rope suspended above the river and letting the current push them across from landing to landing. To cross in the opposite direction they simply turn the boat the other way. The ferries are operated by friendly cheerful boatmen who lease them and operate them as an independent business, making them a home for much of the day. The boatman’s principal skill is dodging the ship and barge traffic moving along the river, for a crossing which only takes a few minutes.

photo by lucky
edited by mobydick74

  Switzerland, Basel, MIC, MIT, MIC/MIT

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