Kleinbasel (little Basel), on the right bank of the River Rhine, celebrated Vogel Gryff on Monday. The three characters Wilde Maa (the wild man), Vogel Gryff (the griffin) and Leu (the lion) danced on the Mittlerebrücke (Middle Bridge) in front of hundreds of spectators and guests of honour.
In keeping with tradition, the three figures danced on the bridge with their backs to Grossbasel (big Basel).
The Vogel Gryff festival has nothing to do with carnival. Its origins date back to the 14th century, with the creation of the Kleinbasel guilds “zur Hären”, “zum Rebhaus” and “zum Greifen”. The festival itself has been celebrated since the 16th century.
The guilds had a number of military functions, including the inspection of weapons, which culminated in a grand parade. The three guilds, or “Drei E” as they are known in Basel, have 450 members, all of them men. Since 2021, women have been able to apply for membership, but so far none has been admitted.
More
More
The soapy secrets behind Basel’s first film
This content was published on
At first sight it looks like a spontaneous scene from bustling Basel at the turn of the century, but the short film is meticulously choreographed.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Trump tariffs: ‘I’m a bit perplexed’, says former US ambassador to Switzerland
This content was published on
The former US ambassador to Switzerland, Edward McMullen, says he is optimistic for the Alpine country with regard to the 31% tariff on imports imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Swiss Federal Court upholds Beny Steinmetz’s bribery conviction
This content was published on
Switzerland's highest court has upheld the conviction of French-Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz for bribery of foreign public officials.
This content was published on
The Trump administration has imposed a 31% tariff on imports from Switzerland. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter has warned against "giving in to alarmism" in an interview published on Saturday,
This content was published on
Scientists have shown that bonobos combine their calls into complex sound sequences that resemble combinations of human words.
This content was published on
US parliamentarians have threatened the UN Human Rights Council with sanctions similar to those against the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This content was published on
Thanks to abundant snowfall, lift operators benefited from increased visitor numbers, with the number of guests jumping by 12% year-on-year.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.