Basel — Herzl's Forgotten Manuscript

Basel becomes in 1897 the world capital of nascent Zionism thanks to the Stadtcasino, built between 1868-1872 by architects Stehlin and Tschudi in Italian neo-Renaissance style. Its main hall of 500 m² hosts 1,200 delegates from 17 countries to hear Theodor Herzl proclaim the necessity of a Jewish state. This Swiss historic monument classified in 1990 still resonates with the speeches that shaped the future of the Jewish people, when Herzl prophetically declared that the Jewish state would be born within fifty years.

The Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, founded in 1682 as 'Hotel zum Drei Königen', hosted Theodor Herzl during those crucial August 1897 days. This establishment, one of Europe's oldest hotels, offered the Viennese visionary its privileged view of the Rhine from its baroque facade restored in 1820. Listed as a cantonal historic monument in 1953, the hotel preserves the memory of those nights when Herzl wrote his personal notes on secret negotiations between delegates, revealing internal tensions of the nascent Zionist movement.

Marktplatz, the central market square since the 13th century, becomes the theater of informal debates between congress attendees. Surrounded by patrician houses from the 15th-17th centuries, it hosts passionate discussions under the shadow of the Town Hall built in 1504-1512 by Hans Pernter in late Gothic style. The Justice Fountain, erected in 1573 with its 2.5 m statue, symbolizes the ideal of justice carried by these men who came to found a new chapter in Jewish history at the heart of medieval Europe.

Basel Minster, cathedral built between 1019 and 1500, dominates with its 71.9 m tower the congress deliberations. Its bells chime the opening of each session from this site where Emperor Henry II's funeral was celebrated in 1024. The cloisters housing 14th-century frescoes and Erasmus of Rotterdam's tomb testify to Basel's humanist tradition that welcomes this diplomatic revolution. Herzl himself notes in his journal the emotion of seeing the Jewish future taking shape under these millennial Gothic vaults.

Your investigation ends in the alleys of Rheingasse, Basel's oldest street mentioned since 1225, where delegates meet in half-timbered taverns from the 15th-16th centuries. These medieval houses witnessed the birth of discussions that extend official sessions, revealing the congress's true stakes. Climbing the medieval stairs to the Rhine quays, you carry away the intimate understanding of these three days that transformed a dream into a political program, making Basel the cradle of modern Zionism and a lost manuscript the key to one of the 20th century's major turning points.