À propos de ce lieu
The Fischmarkt has been one of the liveliest corners of Basel's old town for more than six hundred years, its name a direct memory of the fish market that once filled the square with merchants, stalls and the sharp smell of the day's catch. At its heart stands the Fischmarktbrunnen, a soaring late-Gothic fountain created around 1390 and long considered the finest of its kind in the country. Its slender central column rises some eleven metres, carved and painted with a crowd of saints, prophets and musical angels who watch over the square. Water once poured into the basin here to keep the fishmongers' trout and pike fresh until the moment of sale. Today the stalls are gone, but the cobbles, cafes and the glowing sandstone fountain still make this a natural place to pause on the way down to the river.
À retenir
- 1390 year — Approximate date the late-Gothic Fischmarktbrunnen was created
- 22 figures — Carved figures still surviving of the fountain's original 24: angels, saints and prophets
- 11 metres — Height of the richly carved and painted central stone column
📍 Fischmarkt 5, 4001, Basel