Schloss Ebenrain

Schloss Ebenrain (German pronunciation: [ˌʃlɔs ˈeːbn̩ˌraɪn]) is a former country residence in Sissach, in the canton of Basel-Country, Switzerland.

[1] Schloss Ebenrain was built as a summer residence for the wealthy Basel silk ribbon manufacturer and trader Martin Bachofen and his family.

Both gardens were converted to fashionable English parks in the early 19th century, but one landscape feature, namely the parallel rows of lindens lining the drive to the house, has remained essentially unchanged to the present day.

Bachofen died in 1814, and in 1817 his widow, Margaretha, sold Schloss Ebenrain to another Basel merchant, Johann Rudolf Ryhiner-Streckeisen.

In 1838 Vest transferred the estate to Lukas Vischer, an art collector from Basel who had just returned from several years' residence in Mexico.

Upon his widow's death in 1911 the estate passed to the couple's oldest daughter, Marie Eugénie Catherine, wife of the French vice admiral and diplomat Charles Philippe Touchard.

His heirs promptly sold the estate to a Basel merchant, Rudolf Staechelin-Finkbeiner, who renovated the house and used it to display his acclaimed collection of modern French paintings.

At the same time, the top (roof-level) floor was converted to a large exhibition room, the cellar was expanded, and the entire house was made accessible by wheelchair.

Ebenrain Castle