Jewish cemetery of Basle City
Theodor-Herzl Strasse 90
4055 Basel
Tel.: +41 61 321 72 43
E-mail: igb@igb.ch
Website: www.igb.ch
Directions
The first Jewish cemetery of Basle was established in the 13th century. It is mentionned for the first time in 1264, but was certainly extant earlier, since it constained graves from the years 1222, 1226 and 1231.The cemetery was located (outside of the City to Spalon, in
Arsclaf, "between Gnadenthal and St. Peters Square", beside the garden of the Custody of St. Peter) in the neighborhood of the present-day Peters Square, and was
surrounded by a wall. In the middle of the 14th century it was destroyed during persecutions of the Jews. A large number of Jewish graves were uncovered during the construction of a University of Basle building (Petersplatz 1) in 1937-39. At that time the remaining bones were interred in the new cemetery on Theodor Herzl St. During more
recent building in 2003 (excavation below this building under the
cafeteria) more graves were found, which were also transferred to the
cemetery on Theodore Herzl St. In the second half in the 14th century, When the Jewish Community was reestablished, a new cemetery was dedicated in 1394 on Hirschgässlein 17, next to the Aeschengraben. However this lasted only a few years, since the Jews of Basle were forced to flee the city in 1397, being accused of poisoning the wells. The Jews did not return for several cernturies. The newly-founded Jewish Community of
1805 did not own a cemetery at first, but buried its dead in Hegenheim (Alsace). For a long time their efforts to establish a cemetery were in vain. The Basle city governement denied them permission until 1888, claiming "no sufficient reasons for making an exeption in favor of a religious community". Finally around 1900 the community was able to purchase a plot of land directly on the border to France upon which the ne Jewich cemetery was founded with the agreement of the Basle officials
1902/03 and it was consecrated in August 1903 between Theodor Herzl St. and the French border. In 1969 the funeral hall was rebuilt and it now serves the two Basle communities: Israelitische Gemeinde Basle and the Israelitische Religionsgemeinschaft.
The cemetery has room for ca. 4800 graves, of which 3700 are now occupied.