Riehen

Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Along with the city of Basel and Bettingen, it is one of three municipalities in the canton. Riehen is known for hosting the Fondation Beyeler, a privately owned art gallery, as well as a toy museum and several beautiful parks.

In 1958, Riehen made history by becoming the first municipality in Switzerland to elect a woman, Trudy Späth-Schweizer, to political office. The famous mathematician Leonhard Euler and the well-known tennis player Roger Federer both lived in Riehen during their childhood years.

History

Riehen was first mentioned in the year 1157, and it was called Rieheim at that time.

Neighbourhood

Riehen is a small area that shares its borders with two different places in Switzerland and Germany.

Geography

Riehen covers an area of 10.86 square kilometers. About a quarter of the land is used for farming, and another quarter is covered with forests. Most of the rest is used for buildings and roads. There are also small areas of water, like lakes and rivers.

The municipality sits on the right side of the Rhine river, near the border with Germany. A small stretch of land extends out from the northeast, passing through the Herrenwald forest.

Coat of arms

The design of Riehen's official symbol, called a coat of arms, is simple. It shows a blue background with six white bricks arranged in rows: one on top, then two, and finally three at the bottom.

Demographics

Riehen is a place in Switzerland with a population of 21,788 people as of July 2021. Many people there speak German, with smaller numbers speaking French, Italian, and Romansh.

Most people in Riehen were born either in Riehen itself, in the same area of Switzerland, or in other parts of Switzerland. Some people were born in other countries. The area has many homes and apartments, with many families living there.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Beyeler Foundation, the Cemetery am Hörnli with crematorium, the New and Old Wenkenhof with Park, the Reformed Village Church of St Martin with Meierhof and ring wall, the Wettsteinhäuser (Toy Museum and Village Museum), the Colnaghi House, Huber House and Schaeffer-von Déchend House are special places in Switzerland. The whole town of Riehen is part of the list of important Swiss heritage places.

Politics

In the 2007 federal election, the most popular party in Riehen was the SP, which got 24.29% of the votes. The next three popular parties were the SVP with 21.11%, the LPS Party with 14.32%, and the FDP with 13.19%. A total of 8,209 people voted, and 58.6% of eligible voters took part in the election.

Economy

Riehen had a low unemployment rate of 2.1% in 2010. Many people in Riehen worked in different areas. Some worked in farming or forestry, while others worked in manufacturing, construction, or services like education and healthcare.

Many workers in Riehen traveled to other places for their jobs, while some people from outside came to Riehen to work. Some used public transportation, and others drove private cars to get to work.

Religion

In the year 2000, many people in Riehen followed different religions. About 23% were Roman Catholic, and about 37% were part of the Swiss Reformed Church. Some belonged to other Christian groups, and there were small numbers of people who were Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, or Hindu. About 28% did not follow any specific religion, while a few did not answer the question about their beliefs.

Climate

Riehen experiences rain or snow on average 123 days each year, with about 763 mm (30 inches) of precipitation. The wettest month is June, when the area gets around 88 mm (3.5 inches) of rain or snow over 11.6 days. May has the most rainy days, about 12.7, but only 86 mm (3.4 inches) of precipitation. The driest month is March, with about 49 mm (1.9 inches) of rain or snow falling over 10.7 days.

Education

In Riehen, many people have finished school after high school. Some have even gone to college or a special university called a Fachhochschule. Most of these students are from Switzerland, but some are from other countries.

There are also students from other places who come to Riehen to go to school, while some people from Riehen go to school in other places. Riehen has a library called the Gemeindebibliothek Riehen. It has many books and other things to read, and it is open many days of the year.

Transport

Riehen has two railway stations, Riehen and Riehen Niederholz, with regular trains going to Basel. The Basel tram network also passes through Riehen, reaching all the way to the border with Germany.

Notable people

Riehen has been home to many interesting people throughout history.

• Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), a famous mathematician, grew up here.
• Pauline Fatme (c1831–1855), a missionary who worked in East Africa, is buried in Riehen.
• Leopold Courvoisier (1873–1955) was an astronomer and worked at the Babelsberg observatory from 1905 to 1938.
• Trudy Späth-Schweizer (1908–1990) became the first woman to hold a political office in Switzerland in 1958.
• Albert Scherrer (1908–1986) was a well-known racing driver.
• Ernst Ehrlich (1921–2007) was a religious thinker born in Germany but lived in Switzerland.
• Josef Hügi (1930–1995) played football for clubs and had 34 appearances for Switzerland.
• Marcel Kunz (1943–2017) was a professional football goalkeeper.
• Rolf M. Zinkernagel (born 1944), a professor at the University of Zurich, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996.
• Bettina Skrzypczak (born 1962), a composer from Poland, won a cultural prize from Riehen in 2004.
• Gianna Hablützel-Bürki (born 1969) is a fencer who competes with an épée.
• Roger Federer (born 1981), the famous tennis player, lived in Riehen until he was 10 years old.
• Beat Jans (born 1964) has been a member of the federal council since 2023 and grew up in Riehen.