The Castle of Binningen

This castle was first mentioned in 1299 as a moated castle. It is assumed to have been built in the second half of the 13th century by it's owner, the Basle citizen Heinrich von Zeise. The next owner was a family Eriman who acquired it in an exchange involving an acreage of land by the Birsig River.
The earthquakes of 1356 and 1374 shook the foundations of the building and in 1409 it burnt down completely and was sold as a ruin.
10 years later, historians suppose, the castle was reconstructed , only to be destroyed a gain by the Austrians (more precisely the Habsburgs,) during their campaign of St Jakob in 1444.

Originally the castle may have consisted of two structures divided by an interior courtyard. However, due to the earthquakes and repeated alterations a conclusive definition is at present impossible.
In 1520, the castle's importance to the city of Basel increased significantly. The governor of the canton of Solothurn liked the castle and the village of Binningen and wanted to acquire both. In this way, the canton of Solothurn would have expanded it's territory into the Birsig valley .

Naturally this plan presented a threat to the position of power of the town of Basel: in 1529 a member of the Basel town-council bought the entire estate. As a consequence the town had first refusal and the expansion plans from Solothurn came to nothing.

The castle now became an open house, to be used as a military base for the town of Basel and could be occupied by troops.
In the year 1545 the castle along with the estate of St Margarethen and the castle of Holee, was bought by Johann von Brugge and Joachim van Berchem.
The true identity of Johann von Brugge became only apparent after his death and is said to have consequences till today:

The story of David Joris
This man lived in the castle from 1545 under the name of Johann von Brugge. After his death in 1556 it became known that his real name was David Joris, Head of a Dutch commune of Anabaptists.  Although he was a respected and popular man during his lifetime, the discovery of his past life as a heretic resulted in him being posthumously convicted of heresy. As a result his body was exhumed and burnt at the stake with all his writings. Since then he is said to have haunted the area and the castle until a Capuchin monk was said to have confined his restless spirit to the clock tower of the castle, where he still remains.
David Joris' son in law, Joachim von Berchem, was obliged to renounce the Baptist religion. In the year 1574 Nikolaus von Hatstatt took over the castle and willed it to the town of Basel on his death.

At first the town leased it, but sold it later to a family Eckstein. In 1613 it was owned by the Count of Sulz from Wuertemberg. He was followed by Georg Willhelm von Freudenstein and the Baron von Polheim and Wartenburg.  In thee 17th century the castle was generously extended by the Baron, as shown in a watercolour dated 1670. The castle now had a four storey east wing, a two story west wing, two round towers and one square tower. The entrance led through the east wing.
Nowadays the entrance leads into the courtyard, which did not used to be covered. The old entrance had an outwork with drawbridge and could be reached by a wooden bridge which crossed the moat and pond surrounding the castle.

Between 1738 and 1752 the round tower on the north-east side disappeared. In 1772 the pond and moat were filled in and the entrance moved. Two of the four storeys were demolished and the towers were reduced in height. The castle became a shadow of its former self.
In the year 1817 Niklaus Singeisen from Liestal took over the castle. He had the intention to turn it into a summer casino. However, the owner of the local inn objected to these plans and the local council refused to grant a licence for the sale of food and drink on the premises.  The notion of opening a casino was rendered impossible.
In 1870 the castle was first used as an inn. It was owned for eleven years by William Robert Rowan, an English engineer. He initiated new alterations, so the courtyard was roofed over in 1895.
In the 20th century the castle was constantly being renovated, until the commune of Binningen bought it in 1960.

Nowadays there are a romantic Restaurant and a Hotel on the castle's property.