Aggressive tourists besiege the cathedral Basel priest annoyed: "We are a church, not a snack bar"
The Advent season doesn't just bring contemplative moments for Basel Minster: an onslaught of tourists forces the church to close its doors at weekends.
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- Basel Minster closes on Advent weekends due to the high number of visitors and the inappropriate behavior of many tourists.
- The Christmas market in Basel, an internationally popular attraction, has greatly increased the number of visitors and is leading to conflicts in dealing with the cathedral.
- Basel Tourism and the Protestant Church are examining measures to defuse the situation.
Basel Minster, a historic landmark that has existed since the Middle Ages, faces an unexpected problem during the Advent season: the influx of tourists. They not only visit the popular Christmas market, which is located in the immediate vicinity, but also the cathedral itself, as SRF reports.
The cathedral's vicar, Catherine Schröder Field, has decided to close the church at weekends until the end of the Advent season in order to keep the peace. Exceptions are only made for church services and concerts.
The Christmas market in Basel is attracting more and more visitors, including many international tourists. In recent years, the market has achieved top positions in European rankings, which has led to a significant increase in visitor numbers.
"There are simply too many people here"
However, this development has also had a negative impact on the cathedral, as some tourists abuse the church as a place to eat mulled wine and bratwurst. "We are a church, not a restaurant or snack bar," says Schröder Field to "SRF". Assistant pastor David Meili adds: "There are simply too many people here."
The situation is stressful because the staff constantly have to explain the rules. Tourists are always aggressively defying the staff's instructions. Staff and numerous volunteers are increasingly involved in "verbal and physical altercations", the church writes in a press release.
Basel Tourism regrets the closure of the cathedral at weekends, but understands the church's decision to focus on its core activities. Director Letizia Elia emphasizes that the Christmas market has set one visitor record after another in recent years.
No security staff in front of the church
Together with the Protestant church, Basel Tourism is looking for solutions to defuse the situation. One possibility could be to better inform the tour guides about the rules of conduct in the cathedral.
Pastor Schröder Field firmly rejects the idea of deploying security staff to guard the entrances to the cathedral. She fears that this would convey the wrong image.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.