History of the Casino-Gesellschaft Basel
The founding members of the Casino-Gesellschaft – men from the General Reading Society who gathered for debate, cards and board games – first met in 1808. It soon became apparent that the hired premises on Reinacherhof would be too cramped in the long term.
The “Provisional Committee for the Construction of a Society Venue” (Gesellschaftshaus) began enthusiastically putting its plans into effect in 1820 – its own building in Basel, open to all citizens for dancing, card and board games and debate. The Stadtcasino-Gesellschaft was officially established on 16 February 1824, and operations at the Stadtcasino at Steinenberg commenced in 1826.
1907 The Stadtcasino-Gesellschaft and the Casino-Gesellschaft at St. Jakobs-Garten merged to form the Casino-Gesellschaft Basel.
1937 Riddled with debt, the Summer Casino had to be sold. In 1939, the proceeds were used to replace Melchior Berri’s original Stadtcasino at Steinenberg with today’s main building.
Catering operations and building management were separated in 1970.
In close consultation with the municipal authorities, the Casino-Gesellschaft Basel formulated a project for a “New Stadtcasino Basel” which went ahead from 2000 to 2007 through an international architectural competition. However the winning project by Zaha Hadid was rejected by the voting population of canton Basel-Stadt in 2007.
In 2008, in the wake of this major disappointment, the Casino Committee reformed when 6 of its 9 members resigned. The reconstituted Managing Board embarked on new plans with fresh enthusiasm. Extension and renovation work had now become more urgent than ever, and finally got underway in 2016 in close consultation with representatives of canton Basel-Stadt, based on a study delivered by architects Herzog & de Meuron.
In August 2020 the Stadtcasino Base was ceremoniously reopened and has enjoyed great popularity ever since.
