BASLER
FAEHRI BOATMEN
Historic Rhine Passenger Ferries of Basel
The Rhine River is
a mighty stream. There are more than a few ferries crossing its wide
flow as it courses on its way to the North Sea, most
of them what you’d think of a modern ferry, car decks and diesel
motored propellers fighting the powerful current. In the city of Basel
on Switzerland’s northwest corner where the river makes a few wide
turns cutting through the old medieval town, four unique ferry boats
have been carrying passengers across the river for over 150 years.
Like
the ancient Greek story of the ferryman to Hades, Acheron, who for
a coin placed under
the tongue of the dead, would ferry souls across
the River Styx, the ferry boat men of the Basler Faehri will carry modern
foot passengers across the Rhine for a handful of loose change. The historic
ferries of Basel have no motors, hand-operated by tiller, they cross
the Rhine by tacking against the current, held in position by a rope
suspended
above
the
river and
letting the current push them across from landing to landing. To cross
in the opposite direction they simply turn the boat the other way.
The ferries are operated by friendly cheerful boatmen
who lease them and operate them as
an
independent business, making them a home for much of the day. The boatman’s
principal skill is dodging the ship and barge traffic moving along the
river, for a crossing which only takes a few minutes.
Once called the “Flying Bridges” of Basel, the Basler Ferries
originated in 1854 when the Middle Rhine Bridge (Mittlere Rheinbrücke)
was the only way to cross the river between the center of Basel (Grosse
Basel) and its growing suburb “little Basel” (Klein Basel).
There were originally two ferries, on either side of the Rhine Bridge (see Basel Middle Bridge).
The first ferry crossed from St Alban to the Bürgerlichen Waisenhaus
a civilian orphanage. The second, added in 1862 crossed to the Army Barracks
(Kaserne). Two more were added in the 1890s and finally a fifth. The
ferries fell on hard times with newer bridges and were almost abandoned,
until a foundation was established to keep the city’s beloved anachronism
still in operation. Today, there are four ferries – the “Wild
Maa” at St Alban, the “Leu” at Münster, the Vogel
Gryff” at Klingental and the “"Ueli" at St Johann.
The
fare cost to cross on the Basler Faehri is 1.60 Swiss Francs for adults
and .80 Swiss Francs for Children. Bicycles and Pets are .80 as
well to cross. The ferries operate from 9am to 7pm in summer, sometimes
until 8pm with good weather, and 11am to 5pm in winter months. The crossing
only takes a few minutes. This charming
old mode of transportation is certainly less practical then taking a
tram across the bridges, but worth a stroll along the banks of the Rhine
for a river view of the old city. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Basler
Faehri
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SEE
ALSO:
MUSEUM OF MUSIC AUTOMATONS - SEEWEN
RHINE
RIVER BY RAIL PASS
SWITZERLAND
SCENIC TRAINS
