A look at the Basel Ferries

The four small wooden ferries between Basel’s Rhine bridges have a history of more than 150 years. Until 1879, the Mittlere Brücke (until 1905 a thirteenth-century construction) was the only bridge. That was why they maintained the connection between Kleinbasel and Grossbasel with wooden ships about 9 meters long.

These ferries (Fähre) were initially called Fliegende Brücke (Flying Bridges); a Society of Artists (Künstlergesellschaft) operated them. The Society used the profits to build an Art Hall on the Steinenberg in the city centre.

With the arrival of other bridges (including the Wettstein Bridge (Wettsteinbrücke) in 1879, the Johanniter Bridge (Johanniterbrücke) in 1882, the Dreirosen Bridge (Dreirosenbrücke) in 1934, and the bridge at Kraftwerke Birsfelden in 1954), as well as motorisation, ferry use declined. The last boatsman (Fährimann) retired in 1976.

A foundation was established to keep four boats in operation: the Ueli, Wilde Maa, Leu, and Vogel Gryff, legendary figures in Kleinbasel’s history. This foundation merged into the Fähri-Verein Basel.

The four ferries still cross the Rhine between Klein- and Grossbasel, emitting no CO2. The Rhine’s current carries the cable across to the other side.

(Source and further information: www.faehri.ch).