Basel

Basel (also Basle /ˈbɑːzəl/; German:Basel [ˈbaːzəl]; French:Bâle [bɑːl]; Italian:Basilea [baziˈlɛːa]) is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Situated at the Swiss-German-French tripoint, the Basel region culturally extends into German Baden-Württemberg and French Alsace. Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric since the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. Basel had been a commercial hub since the Renaissance, and it emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in the 20th century.