The Basel Town Hall (German: Rathause Basel) was built more than 500 years ago. It served - and continues to serve - as the seat of the Basel government and council.
This tower was not original to the building, but added in A.D. 1900.
The paintings and statuary, to my mind, recall the Landsknechts, the mercenary soldiers used from the 15th Century to early 17th Century A.D.
This carving originally was mounted on the building.
I have no idea what it says, but it is a very impressive door.
Quite the woodworking there TB and architecture also.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, it is always a pleasure to see old things of such grandeur and beauty. Most modern architecture and art, in my opinion, pales in comparison.
DeleteOver 500 years old. Pretty amazing. It's hard to imagine modern construction lasting nearly that long.
ReplyDeleteIt is to me as well, Leigh.
DeleteOne interesting thought is that Switzerland did not have near the dislocations of war that much of the rest of Europe had. Also a great help in preserving things.
We obviously didn't learn the lessons in construction over hear. My local county courthouse was build around 1890 to replace a wooden one. The brick replacement had a fine tower on it that had sight lines all up and down the river valley. Sometime I think in the 1930s, the repairs on it caused them to knock about 20 or 30 feet out of the middle so now it is no longer a tower but just a pointed part of the main roofing structure. Still somewhat impressive and with good sightlines but I have no faith it will still be standing in another 400 years.
ReplyDeleteWe did not necessarily do so, Ed. Perhaps a confounding factor is the fact that Europe had thousands of years of experience building with brick and stone. We have about 300, mainly based on that experience.
DeleteThere may also be an element of craftsmanship - e.g., I am building something to last forever, not just a paycheck.