Liestal

Sister cities

• Sacramento
• Waldkirch
• Onex

History

The name Liestal was first mentioned in 1225, and the settlement dates at least from Roman times. The development of the town is due to its strategic location on the road between the first bridge over the Rhine at Basel and the St. Gotthard Pass. Citizens of Liestal participated in the Burgundian Wars in 1476 and 1477 against Charles the Bold. In 1501, the mayor swore allegiance to the Swiss Confederation, and this caused repeated conflict with neighboring Rheinfelden, which belonged to the Habsburgs. In the 17th century, Liestal rebelled against Basel as part of the Farmers' Rebellion and was occupied by troops from that city. Three leaders of the rebellion were beheaded in Basel. In 1789, the town enthusiastically hailed the French call for freedom and equality. It celebrated Napoleon, when he traveled through town in 1797. After his fall, the earlier subjection to Basel was re-established. The French July Revolution of 1830 also caused upheaval in Liestal. A provisional government was established, and the town was chosen as the capital of a new canton on 17 March 1832.

Geography

Liestal has an area, , of . Of this area, or 16.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 58.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 23.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 12.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.7%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.6% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.8%. Out of the forested land, 57.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 6.7% is used for growing crops and 8.0% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 0.3% is in rivers and streams. The municipality is the capital of the canton of Basel-Country. The old town is situated on a rocky outcrop between the Ergolz and Orisbach rivers and between Basel and the Jura Mountains. The town is fan-shaped, consisting of a wide main street (Gassenmarkt) and two side streets. In the 18th century small suburbs developed around the lower and the upper city gates. In the 17th century the commercial district of Gestadeck developed along the canal.

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,781
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,140
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,919
• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  9,599
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,558
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  9,325
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  8,409
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,318

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 3.5 — 2024-06-27
  1 km SSW of Todtmoos, Germany
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 4.4 — 2023-03-22
  1 km NW of Pont-de-Roide, France
• M 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France