Arlesheim is first mentioned in 708. In 1239 it was mentioned as
Arlisheim.
Medieval settlement The farm complex of Arlesheim was owned by
Mont Sainte-Odile Monastery in
Alsace starting in the 8thcentury. It was sold in 1239 to the
Bishop of Basel Lüthold von Rötteln. In 1245 the Frohburg family withdrew their claims on the land, which left the Bishop with an uncontested title to the land. In 1273 he pledged the village to the Lords of Ramstein in exchange for a loan. The Bishops of Basel did not get the village back until 1435. After that Arlesheim belonged to the Bishop's
Herrschaft of Birseck. The inhabitants were initially part of the parish of
Pfeffingen. However, by 1341 they possessed a
parish church and by 1396 their own pastor. This parish church, the church of St.Odilia, was rebuilt in the late 17thcentury and demolished in 1816.
The Reformation to the Early Modern Period While Arlesheim was probably under the influence of
Basel through the counts of Birseck, it never entered into a
Burgrecht treaty with the city. Despite Arlesheim's loose connection with Basel, it converted to the new
Protestant faith in 1528 when Basel converted. About half a century later, in 1582, the Bishop of Basel,
Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee, succeeded in spreading the
Counter-Reformation in Arlesheim. In the
Thirty Years War the surrounding countryside was damaged by looting and pillaging. Arlesheim, however, was off the main roads and was relatively untouched. It had developed as a small, rather out of the way wine-growing village with the Bishop's estates and
wine-press. As a result, when the Basel cathedral council and priests moved from
Freiburg im Breisgau in 1678, they went to Arlesheim. An administrative center and impressive early
baroque residences were built in the town. Under the same artistic concept, and initially led by Franz Demess, the cathedral was built in 1679–1681. This was followed by the magnificent
Domherrenhäuser which was built between 1680 and 1687. These new buildings made Arlesheim an attractive place for nobles, high clergy, diplomats, artists, and craftsmen. The court life of the
canons also promoted indigenous craftsmen. In 1726 a mint opened in town. Then, in 1763 the seat of the
Bailiwick of Birseck moved from
Birseck Castle to the Andlauer Hof in Arlesheim. In 1785 Balbina vonAndlau and Canon Heinrich vonLigerz created the
Eremitage (Hermitage), the largest
English garden in Switzerland, which was known throughout Europe and attracted many travelers. The right to appoint Arlesheim's pastor was held by the Bishop of Basel until 1678, after which it went to the council of
Basel's Cathedral. At the beginning of the 17thcentury the parish of Arlesheim was briefly united briefly with the parish of
Reinach (in Basel-Country) into a single parish.
French Revolution to Modern Arlesheim After the short-lived
Rauracian Republic (1792–93), the village was under French rule from 1793 to 1814. Between 1793 and 1800 it was part of the
Département of
Mont-Terrible and then in 1800–1814 it was part of the Département of
Haut-Rhin. Under the revolutionary forces, the Cathedral and the Domherrenhäuser were nationalized. Courageous citizens bought the cathedral and prevented it from being demolished. Later, the parish acquired the building and the cathedral became a parish church. In 1814–1815, it was the seat of the
coalition Governor General of the diocese of Basel. In 1815 the
Canton of Basel was recreated. Arlesheim was part of the Canton of Basel until it split into two half-cantons in 1832. Arlesheim joined Basel-Country and became the capital of a district. During the invasion of revolutionary France, the cathedral canons fled the city. The flight of the canons led to an economic depression in the village in the years following the French invasion. In 1830 Johann Siegmund Alioth moved from Basel to Arlesheim and set up the first mechanical silk-factory in Switzerland along the Birs. The factory operated for nearly a century and a half, until it closed in 1976. For his
Reformed workers, Daniel August Alioth built a Reformed chapel in his garden in 1856. This Reformed church served the needs of just a few Reformed families throughout the entire Birseck. A Reformed parish was established in 1882 in Arlesheim. In 1875 the
Jura–Simplon Railway opened a line into Arlesheim, which was followed in 1902 by the Birseckbahn Basel-Arlesheim-Dornach tram line. In 1976 it was purchased by Baselland Transport. These two train lines gave further impetus to the industrial and service sectors including the Alioth electric equipment supply company in 1892, the
anthroposophist Ita Wegman Clinic in 1921, and the
Weleda remedies company. Arlesheim has a mild climate and sunny vineyards, which made it a popular location for vacation villas. In 1880 the first housing estate was built in New-Arlesheim. The many workers who moved into Arlesheim fostered a sectarian shift in what was once a very Catholic village. The construction of the Reformed church in 1911–1912 encouraged more Reformed workers to follow. In 1990 about 41% of the population was Catholic, while 38% were Reformed. After 1960 Arlesheim developed into a
residential community for the agglomeration of Basel. In 1990 over two-thirds of the workers were commuters, and 77% of the jobs were in the services sector. The ensuing infrastructure problems, including overbuilding, led to a town planning ordinance of 1971 and redevelopment of the village square in 1987 and 1991. ==Geography==