Bottmingen: the castle in the pond
In the middle of the village a castle stands in the water. It is the only moated castle in the canton whose moat is still there. Around it lies a municipality that the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland bluntly calls the “preferred residential community of the higher tax brackets”.
| Canton | Basel-Landschaft, district of Arlesheim |
|---|---|
| Population | 7,077 (February 2026) |
| Municipal tax multiplier 2026 | 48% |
| To Basel SBB | 15 minutes on tram 10 from Schloss |
| To Heuwaage | 9 to 10 minutes |
| Purchase price, residential property | around CHF 12,000 per m², with Binningen the highest in Basel-Landschaft (RealAdvisor model estimate, October 2026) |
The purchase price is a model value for the whole municipality. The actual price depends on the condition of the property and on the negotiation; neither can be estimated in advance.
A hundred years in the shadow of Binningen
“Bothmingen” appears in 1246. Like Binningen it belonged to the bishop, passed to the city of Basel as a pledge in 1534 and for good in 1585, and remained Protestant. For a long time it was not a municipality of its own. It shared church, pasture and assets with Binningen. In 1756 it got its own school, in 1837 its political independence.
The people of Bottmingen lived from arable land and vines and, around 1900, from the vegetables grown on the valley floor for the city.
Two conversions and a country seat
The castle was probably built in the second half of the 13th century. Like the one in Binningen, it never held any rights of lordship. It is first mentioned in 1363. Around 1645 Johann Christoph von der Grün had it converted in the early Baroque style, and in 1720 Johannes Deucher of Steckborn turned it into a country seat in the French Baroque manner. That is how it stands today.
It has belonged to the canton since 1957. In 2013 a sale was under discussion. At the ballot box, 60 per cent of voters decided that the castle would stay with the canton.
The railway brings no factories
In 1887 the Birsigtal railway ran through the village for the first time. Elsewhere the railway attracted industry. In Bottmingen it attracted people from Basel who wanted to live in the countryside and work in the city. In 1950 the village had 1,400 inhabitants, by 1960 already 2,500; today there are a good 7,000.
What it is like to live here
On the valley floor by the Birsig lie the castle, the village centre and the tram stop. The sought-after locations run up the slopes, above all towards the Bruderholz. A fifth of the municipality is woodland.
Kindergarten and primary school are in the village; the secondary school is shared with Binningen. The open-air pool by the castle, run jointly with Binningen and Oberwil since 1955, recorded almost 98,000 admissions in 2025.
What you need to know
Along with Binningen and Riehen, Bottmingen is one of the most expensive places to live in the region. The municipal tax multiplier (Steuerfuss) is low, but no longer as low as it used to be: in 2025 it rose from 45 to 48 per cent, and the municipality faces investments of CHF 40 to 50 million.
In 2029 and 2030 BLT is renewing the tram line through the Leimental, and a new bus station with a turning loop is being built by the castle. That means building sites and, afterwards, better connections: from 2030, line 17 is to run direct to Basel SBB station, provided Basel-Stadt approves the track connection this requires.
Like Binningen, Bottmingen lies in the approach zone of EuroAirport.
How long to where
| Bahnhof SBB | 15 min | direct |
| Barfüsserplatz | 11 min | direct |
| Roche | 23 min | 2× change |
| Novartis Campus | 26 min | 2× change |
| ISB Aesch | 22 min | 2× change |
| ISB Fiechten | 20 min | 2× change |
| ISB Reinach | 18 min | 1× change |
Within a radius of one kilometre
| Shops and everyday needs | 20 |
| Leisure | 3 |
Stops within 500 m: Batteriestrasse, Blauenstrasse, Drosselstrasse, Schloss, Stallenstrasse, Talholzstrasse
Live map · Public transport · What is open? · Traffic situation · Moving house · Waste disposal
Journey times: fastest connection, weekday from 08:00, regular timetable of 15 December 2026. Entries from OpenStreetMap and, for Basel-Stadt, from the canton's open data. Categories without data are not shown.
Sources: Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, Bottmingen · Municipality of Bottmingen, annual report 2025 · Resolutions of the municipal assembly, 16 December 2025 · BLT, newsletter September 2026 · Weiherschloss Bottmingen · Canton of Basel-Landschaft, Weiherschloss · Prices: RealAdvisor, October 2026 · Timetable: transport.opendata.ch, queried November 2026
“I look at every property myself. A sound valuation needs a site visit – and a conversation about what you actually intend to do.”
Madiba has been managing and brokering property in Basel since 1964. Mr Ruf handles the sale himself, from the first valuation to the notarial deed.
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