Bettingen: the village above the city

800 guilders for a village

Bettingen is documented from 777. The name goes back to an Alemannic settler called Betto; the first settlers probably arrived around the year 500.

In the Middle Ages the estate belonged first to the lords of Bärenfels, then to the Truchsess family of Wolhusen. On 2 March 1513 Christoffel and Hans Truchsess sold the village to the city of Basel for 800 guilders. From 1627 it was administered together with Riehen, and like Riehen it stayed with the city in 1833.

The people of Bettingen lived from arable farming, vines and home weaving, first linen and, in the 18th century, silk ribbons for Basel's manufacturers. In 1774 there were 193 people living here; in 1950 there were 553. Only after that did the farming village become a residential community.

St. Chrischona

A church has stood at the top of the Dinkelberg since about 700. In the Middle Ages people made pilgrimages to Saint Chrischona; the present building, with tower, chancel and nave, was built between 1450 and 1516. The Reformation put an end to the pilgrimage.

In 1840 the Pilgermission moved in, a training institution of Basel Pietism. Since then the hill has been a small settlement of its own beside the village. At 522 metres, the church tower is the highest point in the canton and is open to the public.

Next to it, since the early 1980s, stands the television tower, 250 metres high and, according to the municipality, the tallest free-standing structure in Switzerland. A railway up to the Chrischona was once planned. The First World War put an end to the project; the bus has been running since 1930.

What it is like to live here

Of the 223 hectares of municipal area, only 37 are zoned for building. The village lies on the western slope, and almost everything is detached houses. The primary school is in the village and is run jointly with Riehen. The municipality is currently revising its zoning plan with the stated aim of preserving the village character.

What you need to know

Bettingen has neither tram nor railway. Bus 32 runs to Riehen, where you change; it takes half an hour to the centre. The late-evening service repeatedly comes up for discussion because of its cost.

Shopping, secondary school, doctor: for almost everything you travel to Riehen or Basel. Houses rarely come onto the market. And the municipal finances are small and correspondingly sensitive; the 2024 accounts had to be corrected substantially after the event.

Sources: Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, Bettingen · Municipality of Bettingen, about Bettingen · Taxes and finances · Prices: RealAdvisor, October 2026 · Timetable: transport.opendata.ch, queried November 2026