The 3rd largest city in Switzerland, Basel (85 kilometers north-west of Zurich and 98 km north of Bern) stands on the Rhine, where the Swiss, German and French borders join in the beautiful area of Jura Mountains. Grossbasel (Greater Basel, where’s the imperial city) is located on the steep left bank of Rhine River and Kleinbasel (Lesser Basel) is on its right bank. The two parts of the city are connected by several bridges, as well as with four ferries. The first bridge here was built in 1225 and for centuries was the only one across the river, until replaced by the Mittlere Rheinbrücke (Middle Rhine Bridge).

The town of Basel was a Roman fort in A.D. 374, under the name Basilia and was later ruled by prince-bishops for about one thousand years. Basel integrated with the Swiss Confederation in 1501 and it became a Protestant region. During the Reformation in 1529, the city served as a refuge for victims of religious chasing, flooded in from France, Italy and Holland, bringing new vitality to the town and laying the foundation for the city’s golden age in the eighteenth century.
As one of the Swiss most important cultural centers, Basel saw the development of the printing press and the book trading from early times and it was in this city when in 1516 Erasmus (who is buried in the cathedral) published the first edition of the New Testament. Other renowned Basel residents include the painter Holbein the Younger, Friedrich Nietzsche, Theodor Herzl, who addressed the first Zionist World Congress here in 1897 and Jacob Burckhardt.
Presently, the cultural traditions of the city live on in its numerous museums (around 30), many art galleries, and schools. The city has become a famous as an international trade-place for art and antiquities. In 1967 Basel’s residents voted by referendum to purchase 2 renowned works by Picasso - The Seated Harlequin and The Two Brothers, and then Picasso donated 4 other paintings to this city of culture.
Basel is also an important banking and industrial center, particularly of chemical and pharmaceutical industry of world importance.

Name: St Jakob Park
Club: FC Basel
City: Basel
Inauguration: 25 April 1954
Renovations: 1999-2001
Capacity: 33,200 (9,000 standing places)
Pitch dimensions: 105*68
St Jakob Park, locally called the 'Joggeli', is currently Switzerland's largest football ground and is part of the St Jakob Sports Centre, which includes the Arena across the road, a sports hall, horse riding complex and several other pitches. All of the facilities are run by a management company called Basel United AG.

Opened in 2001, the stadium originally had a capacity of 31,539.  An extra tier has since been added, taking the capacity to 36,000. For the Euros, the spacing of the seats is being reduced in order to bring the capacity up to 42,500..

The stadium, which cost 250 million Swiss francs to build, is one of only two in Switzerland to have UEFA four-star rating, the other being the Stade de Suisse in Bern. The main stand backs onto a main road and incorportates shops and flats. Behind the stand opposite is the stadium's own railway station.