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Canton of Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; ; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Switzerland. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Basel-Stadt, its urban counterpart.
Basel-Landschaft is one of the northernmost cantons of Switzerland. It lies essentially south of the Rhine and north of the Jura Mountains. The canton shares borders with the canton of Basel-Stadt to the north, the canton of Aargau to the east, the canton of Solothurn to the south and the canton of Jura to the west. It shares international borders as well with France and Germany to the north.
Together with Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft was part of the canton of Basel, which joined the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1501. Political quarrels and armed conflict led to the partition of the canton in 1833.
In Roman times, the area of Basel was a centre of Roman activity. There are well-preserved remains at the site of Augusta Raurica in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Around 200 AD there were about 20,000 people living in this city, now part of the much smaller Augst. The remains are on display in an open-air museum. The museum attracts over 140,000 visitors per year. Many of these visitors are schoolchildren from other parts of Switzerland. The site of Augusta Raurica includes the best-preserved amphitheatre north of the Alps, and a reconstructed Roman villa.
The lands of the canton Basel-Landschaft are part of the lands acquired by the city of Basel. Until the end of the 16th century, most of the canton's land belonged to the city of Basel. After Napoleon's visit in 1798, the country achieved equality with the city. The country was economically dependent on the city, most probably because of the cost and difficulty in transporting agricultural goods to further markets, the financing of land transactions and crop production by city-based merchants. Low levels of education and literacy in the agricultural areas of Europe was typical in that era. The best students would be sponsored and sent away for higher learning. The city of Basel remained the cultural and economic centre of both Basel half cantons until then. Castles and residences of Basel merchants dominated much of the landscape in Basel-Landschaft.
After 1830 there were political quarrels and armed conflict in the canton of Basel. Some of these were concerned with the rights of the population in the agricultural areas. They ultimately led to the separation of the canton Basel-Landschaft from the city of Basel on 26 August 1833. Since then, there has been a movement for reunification. This movement gained momentum after 1900 when many parts of Basel-Landschaft became industrialized. The two half cantons agreed in principle to merge, but in 1969 the people of Basel-Landschaft voted down a referendum on this proposal in favour of retaining their independence. It is thought that the closing economic gap between the two cantons was the main reason why the population changed their attitude.
That vote was not the end of a close relationship between the two Basels. The two half cantons have since signed a number of agreements to co-operate. The contribution of Basel-Landschaft to the University of Basel since 1976 is just one example.
With a few exceptions, it includes the towns of the Laufental along the river Birs, the Birseck and the Leimental, as well as the towns along the Ergolz and its tributaries. The shape of the canton is very irregular, and its borders cut across several towns.
In terms of size, it is one of the smaller cantons of Switzerland (18th of 26). However, it is number 10 in terms of population.
Basel-Landschaft borders on the east and north with the canton of Aargau and the Rhine, which forms the border with Germany (state of Baden-Württemberg). On the northwest, it borders with France (department of Haut-Rhin).
On the south, it borders on the canton of Solothurn, with a few exclaves of that canton within its western area. In the extreme southwest, it borders on the canton of Jura.
The Jura mountains mountain chain traverses the canton. The rivers Ergolz and Birs drain the lands of the canton.
The thirty rivers of Baselland are:
The district of Laufental has the same history as that of Arlesheim. The important difference is that in 1815 Laufental joined Bern rather than Basel. When the canton of Jura was created in 1979, the district of Laufental became an enclave of the canton of Bern. It was allowed self- determination and in 1980 the people decided to join the canton of Basel-Landschaft. This led to Laufental joining the canton of Basel-Landschaft on 1 January 1994 after a lengthy administrative process.
The canton of Basel-Landschaft is part of the economic region around Basel that includes parts of France and Germany as well as both half cantons of Basel. Since the 1960s there are agreements in force to strengthen contacts within the so-called Regio Basiliensis. This economic co-operation is often considered as the most intensive in Europe.
From the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century silk weaving was important in Basel-Landschaft. Factories were established as early as 1850, following the finding of Halite in underground deposits, founding industries such as the chemical industry in Schweizerhalle. The chemical industry means that Basel is one of the richer parts of Switzerland.
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