Basel BSCENE Blows Up; Basel Prison Expansion Begins; Banner Year For SBB; Monument To Witches Explored

News For 21 March 2017

Over two nights last weekend, Basel's BScene Club Festival hosted over 7000 visitors at 12 different locations throughout the city.  More than 400 artists and musicians participated in this years event offering up metal to Swiss dialect rap and every genre in between.  In addition to a strong contingent of talent from the Basel region,  many internationally recognized artists were on hand as well.  ********** Last Friday marked the beginning of the construction of an extension for the Prison “Bässlergut”. By 2020, the prison should have an extra 78 cells located in a new five-story building. They will be used for short sentences lasting up to six months, supplementing the 15 short-sentence cells that Basel currently has. After finding lead in the ground before construction commenced, the construction department of Basel is unsure whether the budgeted 40 million CHF will be enough for the project. ********** 2016 was a record year for Switzerland's rail service the SBB.  Both freight and passenger traffic hit all time highs last year seeing over 1.25 million passengers per day ride the SBB trains.  18 million tickets were sold via mobile devices, which exceeded counter sales for the first time.  In addition, after the loss the company reported in 2015, it managed to return to profitability in 2016.  Other accolades earned by the railway in 2016 include it being the most punctual railway network in Europe.    ********** The city government would like to commemorate the victims of the witch hunts from the middle ages with a plaque. In doing so, they hope that part of the moral responsibility of the execution of innocent women will be relieved. However, it seems unlikely that the “witches” names will be legally cleared.  Some 30 “witches” are said to have been executed between 1433 and 1680. As most people convicted of witchcraft (and other crimes) were executed on the “Käppelijoch” on the Mittlere Brücke, it has been designated as the likely future home for the plaque.