Merian Haus and Jacob-Burckhardt Haus

Peter Merian-Weg 8 · 4052 Basel

By Leah Bonvin

Peter-Merian Haus and Jacob-Burckhardt Haus: powerful families in Basel today

To get an idea what kind of people cities seek to commemorate, it is always interesting to look at who streets, monuments and new architectural projects are named after, in other words, to look at toponomy?

Figure 1 Peter Merian Haus and Jacob Burckhardt Haus. Photo L. Bonvin 6.1.2022

It is this question we ask when standing in front of the Peter Merian and Jacob Burckhardt Haus.

Figure 2 Merian Haus on the left and Burckhardt Haus on the right. Photo L. Bonvin 31.01.2022

Those two buildings, designed by the Luzern architect Hans Zwimpfer, dominate the landscape when one get in Basel by train. They host companies such as DHL, Moderna, Bayer, Basler Insurance, Roche, as well as some faculties of the University of Basel. The Merian Haus was inaugurated in 2001, and the Burckhardt Haus in 2009.

Figure 3 Sign Jacob Burckhardt Haus. Photo L. Bonvin 5.1.2022

Who are Peter Merian and Jacob Burckhardt and why were these buildings named after them?

The architect of the buildings, Hans Zimpfer, explains that Peter Merian (1795-1883), chemist and Professor at the University of Basel, had a “combative personality” and used it to step up against authorities when the survival of the University was at stake. The architect draws a parallel between Merian and the Peter Merian Haus, for which he also had to fight. However, the name Merian is also associated with other notorious family members. Indeed, Peter Merian was a descendant of Christoph Merian “the Rich”, who took an active part in the triangular trade with his company Frères Merian. If we obviously do not imply that Peter Merian himself was involved in colonial activities, it is undoubtable that he did gain from his family’s great wealth and reputation.

Figure 4 Peter Merian Haus. Photo L. Bonvin 31.01.22

The second building is named after the historian Jacob Burkhardt, as an homage to his work on the symbiosis between art and architecture. But as the scandal around the choice of the National Bank to put him on the CHF 1000 note in 1997 showed, Burckhardt is also known for his antidemocratic and antisemitic positions. However, this polemic has not been taken into account during the naming process.

Figure 5 Jacob Burckhardt Haus. Photo L. Bonvin 31.01.22

Like Merian, the choice of the name Burckhardt is not innocent, as it also refers to one of the most powerful families in Basel. The most (in)famous member of the family is probably Christoph Burckhardt, who was involved in the triangular trade with his son. They both not only traded dyestuff and cloths, but also paid for the armament of slavers’ ships. As we see the names Merian and Burckhardt mean more to Basel than Zwimpfer’s sole architectural complex. They remind us of how those powerful families and their wealth (mainly gained through colonial activities) shaped Basel and how the city’s urban space is still imbued with their influence today. For example, the construction of the Peter-Merian Haus required the building of the Peter-Merian tram stop and the Peter-Merian-Weg for pedestrians and bikes. This shows how those wealthy families are still actively being represented in the public space of Basel and raises other questions: Who is remembered in the public space, and who has the power to decide which figures deserve to be remembered?

Figure 6 Tram stop Peter Merian. Photo L. Bonvin 31.01.2022

Giraut and Houssay-Holzschuch remind us that place naming is often used as a technique to “construct and maintain a collective identity” by linking the city to (mostly white male) founding figures. In the case of the Merian and Burckhardt Haus, the names were decided on by a collective of city representatives, private actors and the architect himself. It was thus not the explicit purpose of the city representatives to link Basel to the reputation of the wealthy and philanthropic Merian family. Nonetheless, the choice is not trivial and does take part in the creation of a collective identity by shedding light on who is legitimate to represent a place or a whole city, and who has been left out. Indeed, a lot of people who also contributed in making Basel what it is today are still invisibilized. If the wealthy Basler families who profited from the slave-trade are well represented in the public space, where are the women, the people of color, the working class commemorated in the city? A step toward the decolonization of Basel could be taken by acknowledging those invisibilized figures and by giving them a place in the public space.

References

Dufour, N. (1998). Le nouveau billet de 1000 francs suscite déjà la controverse. Le Temps. Le nouveau billet de 1000 francs suscite déjà la controverse - Le Temps

Giraut, F. and M. Houssay-Holzschuch (2016). Place Naming as Dispositif: Toward a Theoretical Framework. Geopolitics, 21(1), 1-21.

Hirzel-Strasky, A-C. (2003). Christoph Burckhardt. DHS Burckhardt, Christoph (hls-dhs-dss.ch)

Schibler, T. (2008). Peter Merian. DHS Merian, Peter (hls-dhs-dss.ch)

Wichers, H. (2008). Christoph Merian. DHS Merian, Christoph (hls-dhs-dss.ch)

Zwimpfer, H. (2011). Mein roten Faden. Basel: autopublished.