Basel Chemical Museum Working World of Chemistry
Overview
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Hint
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Intro
Since the 1860s, large quantities of paints, plastics, agrochemicals, additives and pharmaceuticals have been produced at the Klybeck site in Basel. We offer guided tours of the site and present working environments from this era in the exhibition.
The Basel Chemistry Museum looks after the industrial heritage of Basel chemistry. Since 1860, the production of synthetic dyes has spawned and driven forward a chemical industry in the Basel region. This development peaked in the 1980s with the general dominance of this industry and all its suppliers in the region. Huge sales were achieved with specialty chemicals, dyes, agrochemicals, additives and, above all, pharmaceuticals. These assets are the basis of the prosperity of Basel and the Swiss pharmaceutical industry.
Following the closure of the last major chemical production facility in Klybeck at the end of 2011, former employees and residents of the neighborhood founded the Basel Region Industrial and Migration History Association. The factories were dismantled, the people had retired or moved away. The aim was to document the disappearance of everyday life in the chemical plants.
From 2012 to 2018, conversations were recorded, storytelling cafés were held in retirement homes, objects were collected and documents, photos and stories were secured. From 2018 to 2020, we carried out systematic interview work through the "Oral History, Chemistry and Urban Culture" project, which allowed our collection of everyday culture in the chemical plants to grow significantly. At the same time, the association organized oral history events with the University of Basel and built up an extensive online archive on the history of chemistry - see https://www.imgrb.ch .
On October 20, 2020, Swiss Life, owner of the Klybeck site, opened the former extensive factory premises to the public. On this "Open Day", the association and the students presented the material they had compiled on four topics from the world of chemistry and gave guided tours. This became the core of the Working World of Chemistry exhibition.
After the corona break in 2021, the association was able to open a new exhibition in the WKL 105 building with many new materials, which is now available to the public. During these years, interest in the work of the association grew enormously. Many guided tours of the factory premises and the exhibition were organized. More and more companies and people offered us material and information. But even the current location is only temporary and will be demolished in the next few years.
Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.
General information
| Accessibility |
Accessible
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| Contact address |
Nicholas Schaffner
Wissenschaftlicher Leiter Chemiemuseum Basel Wissenschaftliche Leitung Klybeckstrasse 141 4057 Basel +4178 6667623 info@chemiemuseum.ch |
| Location |
Chemiemuseum Basel
Klybeckstrasse 141 4057 Basel Switzerland |
Group & pricing information
| Language |
German
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| Further prices (starting from) |
None, a donation will not be refused.
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Booking Information
Book online