From Pratteln to the Ermitage Arlesheim

Pratteln, a suburb of Basel, is the starting point of this point-to-point hike. Around it, the earliest settlement traces in Switzerland were found. The current industrial area Schweizerhalle established regional prosperity through brine extraction. A visible landmark is the castle. It was built as a pond castle in 1275 and surrounded by a moat. On the east side of Schmiedplatz is one of the oldest farmhouses, today the community house from the 16th century. The historic core of Pratteln is the Reformed Church of St. Leodegar. The late Gothic church was built on the foundations of a late Romanesque church.

The hike through Baselbieter Tafeljura leads to the Schauenburgflue with the Neu-Schauenburg ruin. At the Flue, the highest point of the tour (663 m above sea level), the ruins of a Celtic-Roman hill sanctuary have been restored.

In Arlesheim, the Ermitage presents itself as the largest English landscaped garden in Switzerland. The romantic park with walking paths and viewpoints was created even before the French Revolution. The already dilapidated Birseck Castle and its castle hill were redesigned with grottoes and ponds and thus formed the basis for numerous similar parks throughout Europe. An automaton Capuchin could not be missing either.

The landmark of Arlesheim is the cathedral. After the Reformation, it was the seat of the cathedral chapter of the Basel diocese from 1679 to 1792. Inside is the last Silbermann organ preserved in Switzerland from 1761.