St. Alban Valley (Km 4.5)
The former mill district in the St. Alban Valley (or Dalbeloch) lies on a narrow terrace between the Rhine and St. Alban-Vorstadt. In 1996, Basel received the prestigious Wakker Prize from the Swiss Heritage Society for the exemplary redevelopment of the district.
For a long time, the mills stood unprotected outside the gates of the city. The Dalbeloch was only included by the new ringwall in 1400. One last section of the city fortifications remains between the St. Albanteich and the Rhine: the Letzi wall. There was a “Manne-Lotsche” right next to the wall: a small pit or depression in the Teich, deep enough so that one could stand in it and clean oneself.
We should not imagine that everyday life in the district was very romantic; it was used for industrial purposes until the middle of the 20th century. There was little space between the mills, which stood right next to each other. The canal was a narrow, 4 metre wide corridor into which hardly any sunlight fell. The walls that were soaked by the splashing water could never dry out properly. The water wheels produced a deafening noise, which was further exacerbated by the various stamping mills and milling processes. In addition, there was the notorious stench of the paper mills.
Images no. 2, 4 State Archive of the City of Basel, image identification: no. 2: BILD Schn. 4 Rheinufer im St. Albantal um 1874
