Building Paradise (E)

A magnificent, little-known Basel Baroque palace

Basel's economic and industrial history of the 18th century in a global context

Two language editions: German and English

In the middle of the 18th century, the Basel silk ribbon manufacturer Achilles Leissler (1723-1784) had an impressive summer house built on Riehenstrasse, which became known as the «Sandgrube». The building fits in with the considerable number of richly residences that lined the road from Kleinbasel to Riehen. With their remarkable gardens full of exotic plants, they not only represented the economic elites of a wealthy city, they were also located in the direct vicinity neighbourhood of the production sites that made cotton and silk through special dyeing and printing processes, thus serving a global market.

This publication explores the heritage-listed «Sandgrube» and its internationally active inhabitants. This opens the view of Basel's early participation in a global market and for the effects that the production and trade of global goods had on the city's community and its self-image.

About the authors:
Susanna Burghartz (* 1956) is Professor of Early Modern History at the Department of History and the Institute for European Global Studies at the University of Basel.
Madeleine Herren (* 1956) is director of the Institute for European Global Studies of the University of Basel and Professor of the history of the modern era.