Artefacts supplying the earliest proof of human life in Switzerland were found near Pratteln. The old drilling towers of the Rhine «Schweizerhalle» salt works bear witness to Pratteln’s industrial past. Other places of interest are the Bürgerhaus, Pratteln Castle and the old parish church.

Pratteln is a typical suburb of Basel with many industrial plants. With 15,000 inhabitants the town has one of the largest proportions of foreigners in the population of Canton Basel-Land, especially in the high-rise districts of «Längi» and «Rankacker». The industrial area of Schweizerhalle also belongs to Pratteln as does a part of the large Muttenz freight railway station.

Pratteln was settled very early and remains have been found from the Neolithic Period and antiquity, such as Celtic burial mounds, foundations of Roman villas and burial findings from the early Middle Ages. Pratteln is the site where the oldest proof of human life on Swiss territory, an at least 100,000 year-old hand axe, was discovered in 1974.

Canton Basel-Land was founded in 1833 and could not have survived financially without the 1836 discovery of huge and as yet unexhausted salt resources on the Rhine plain near Pratteln. The first Swiss salt works were opened at Schweizerhalle near the Rhine and Switzerland became independent of foreign salt imports. The old drilling towers of the Rhine salt works still stand.

The old parish church is an object of interest in Pratteln: it is built on Roman foundations and forms the core of the oldest settlement. The church was first mentioned in documents dating from 1250 and is dedicated to Saint Leodegar or Léger, Bishop of Autun and patron of the Murbach monastery. The choir was built in the late Gothic period.

The alleyways and streets of the small town spread out from the church in a star-like formation. Pratteln Castle was built around 1275 and was formerly a moated castle. The Bürgerhaus, a farmhouse built in the 16th century, is home to the village museum. The Joerin Manor House, part of an 18th century estate, is also well worth visiting.

Highlights

• Old Town – alleyways and streets of the old town spread out in a near-perfect star formation from the church at its centre.
• Rhine saltworks in Prattlen – the old drilling towers built in 1836 still stand.