Basel: Rhine bank promenade is opened

On the Swiss side, the Elsässerrheinweg between Dreirosenbrücke and the national border is divided into several levels and terraces. Limestone walls bridge the difference in altitude of up to twelve meters between the Rhine and the Novartis Campus. Stairs and ramps allow walkers to move back and forth between the individual levels.

The upper, flood-proof path is intended for cyclists. On the lower path there are four new exits for Rhine swimmers and four showers. Close to the Dreirosenbrücke bridge, "archaeological peepholes" on the promenade path provide a view of the remains of the Celtic settlement of Basel-Gasfabrik, which was located here in 100 BC. Hager Partner from Zurich was responsible for the landscape architecture, and Staubli Kurath Partner, also from Zurich, was the specialist planner.

The Lokami restaurant, which is part of the Novartis Campus, opens onto the Rhine promenade onto a gravel square with boulevard gastronomy and is open to the public. Lakomi was designed by the Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Awarded with label "IBA Basel 2020

The cross-border Rhine embankment path was awarded the "IBA Basel 2020" label because the project is distinguished by "its ability to connect people and spaces at a regional level, a cross-border working process and the great motivation of the project promoters," the canton of Basel-Stadt wrote in a statement.

The construction of the Rhine embankment path cost a good CHF 27 million on the Swiss side. The Rhine embankment path was made possible by an agreement concluded in 2005 between the canton of Basel-Stadt and Novartis. With the exception of the connecting paths to the Rhine and the path along the Rhine, Novartis acquired the greater part of the former Rhine harbor St. Johanns and other land directly connected to the Novartis Campus from the canton. The Rheinhafen St. Johann was subsequently demolished and the Novartis Campus expanded. (ah)