Liestal (Alemannic German: [ˈliə̯ʃd̥l̩], Standard German: [ˈliːstal]), formerly spelled Liesthal, is the capital of Liestal District and the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland, 17 km (11 mi) south of Basel.

The development of the town is due to its strategic location on the road between the first bridge over the Rhine at Basel and the St. Gotthard Pass.

Citizens of Liestal participated in the Burgundian Wars in 1476 and 1477 against Charles the Bold.

In 1501, the mayor swore allegiance to the Swiss Confederation, and this caused repeated conflict with neighboring Rheinfelden, which belonged to the Habsburgs.

In the 17th century, Liestal rebelled against Basel as part of the Farmers' Rebellion and was occupied by troops from that city.

In 1789, the town enthusiastically hailed the French call for freedom and equality.

A provisional government was established, and the town was chosen as the capital of a new canton on 17 March 1832.

Liestal has an area, as of 2009[update], of 18.19 square kilometers (7.02 sq mi).

The old town is situated on a rocky outcrop between the Ergolz and Orisbach rivers and between Basel and the Jura Mountains.

In the 18th century small suburbs developed around the lower and the upper city gates.

[8] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (10,759 or 83.2%), with Italian being second most common (660 or 5.1%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (276 or 2.1%).

[7] The age distribution, as of 2010[update], in Liestal is; 917 children or 6.8% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 1,827 teenagers or 13.5% are between 7 and 19.

[8] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3] The Depot of Archeology of Basel-land, the Frenkenbrücke (bridge), the Munzach which was a Roman farmhouse, the Roman aqueduct and the Cantonal Archive of Basel-Landschaft are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The entire old town of Liestal is listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 25.95% of the vote.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 50, of which 36 were in agriculture, 12 were in forestry or lumber production and 2 were in fishing or fisheries.

In the tertiary sector; 899 or 10.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 348 or 4.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 258 or 3.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 117 or 1.3% were in the information industry, 651 or 7.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 638 or 7.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 660 or 7.6% were in education and 2,819 or 32.5% were in health care.

[8] From the 2000 census[update], 3,641 or 28.2% were Roman Catholic, while 5,626 or 43.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

These libraries include; the Kantonsbibliothek Baselland and the Pädagogische Hochschule in Liestal.

[17] In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code (running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Liestal was 73.2 per thousand residents, slightly higher than the national average (64.6 per thousand).

The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 1.7 per thousand residents.