History of the Jews in Basel
The Jews of Basel were tradesmen, doctors, scribes, and moneylenders, a trade that was forbidden by the church but permitted by rabbis.
He used the money to fund the construction of the Mittlere Rheinbrücke, one of the first bridges across the Rhine in the area, and played a decisive role in the development of trade in Basel.
There was a toll of 30 silver marks for mules, horses and goods crossing the bridge, which the bishop transferred to his own pocket until he could settle the debt.
The procedure of placing Christian treasures and religious artefacts as collateral for a loan from Jewish moneylenders was common, but dangerous for Jews, inciting widespread anti-Jewish sentiment.
Already at Christmas 1348, before the plague had reached Basel, the Jewish cemetery was destroyed and a number of Jews fled the city.
The number of 300 to 600 victims mentioned in medieval sources is not credible; the entire community of Jews in the city at the time was likely of the order of 100, and many of them would have escaped in the face of persecution in the preceding weeks.
However, less than 15 years later, in the wake of the disastrous earthquake of 1356, Jews were allowed back and by 1365, the existence of a second Jewish community is documented.
It was still listed as “Garden of Eden” as late as the 16th century in Sebastian Münster's city map, although there was no longer a Jewish community in Basel at that time.
In his introduction to Basilea Sepulta, 1661, he describes counting 570 Hebrew gravestones when walking along the city wall.
In 1629, the Basel theologian Johann Buxtorf the Younger translated the religious philosophical work Führer der Unschlüssigen by the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides, and in 1639 he completed the Lexicon chaldaicum, talmudicum et rabbinicum, begun by his father Johann Buxtorf the Elder.
However, their residence permits were temporary, and the city resolutely excluded Jews between the 16th and 18th centuries, also in the villages surrounding Basel.
In 1552 the Basel Council decided on a “Jew toll of 6 shillings”, taxing humans like goods and animals.
Travelling Jews in Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein often had to pay with dice in addition to the required customs money.
After the French Revolution, France (among others) put pressure on Basel to end discriminatory measures, and in 1794, the Jew toll was likewise abolished.
After the dissolution of the Helvetic Republic, the new measures were reversed, and it was only in 1872 that Jews were granted full citizenship in Basel.
Although the Swiss referendum of 1866 committed to giving Jews full and equal residency and trading rights, these were not fully implemented in Switzerland until 1874.
However, the religious freedom granted during the Helvetic Republic paved the way for the third Jewish community of Basel, which was established around 1805.
It was the first prayer house belonging exclusively to the Jewish community, while previously Jews prayed in their private homes.
Other newcomers came from the Southern Germany and from the Swiss “Judendörfer” Endingen and Lengnau, where Jews were allowed to settle since the 17th century.
Although the congresses met largely with public sympathy, many Jews in Basel maintained a guarded attitude to Zionism until the rise of National Socialism in Germany.
In 1973, the Israelitische Gemeinde Basel (or IGB) became the first Jewish community in Switzerland to be recognised under public law, giving it the same status as the national churches.
