Station 9: Klybeckquai and Westquai – Temporary uses
On the Basel side, the port areas of Klybeckquai and Westquai are also in the process of being converted. Until their final use is determined, these locations provide scope for creative temporary uses.
From the Klybeck Island to the port area
Up to the end of the 19th century, the Klybeck Island (“Klybeckinsel”) was separated from Kleinbasel by the Old Rhine (“Altrhein”, old river bed of the Rhine), which rejoined the main course of the Rhine upstream of the mouth of the Wiese. The bed of the Altrhein was then filled in, connecting the Klybeck Island to the banks of the Rhine. To this day, street names such as Altrheinweg (‘Altrhein Road’) and Inselstrasse (‘Island Street’) refer to the former island.
Originally, the Klybeck neighborhood was supposed to be built up to the edge of the Rhine. However, in the wake of the construction of the port and port railway, the former island was ultimately occupied by port and industrial facilities. This meant the bank of the Rhine was no longer habitable, and housing was only built up to the Altrheinweg.
A City Expanding to the Rhine
Following the region’s economic transformation, the former Klybeck Island site, released for redevelopment after nearly a century of intensive industrial use, offers a rare opportunity to reshape Basel’s riverfront. Early visions for the area once imagined reopening the old branch of the Rhine, but this idea has since been set aside.
In the summer of 2025, the Executive Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt presented a new planning framework for the redevelopment of the Klybeckquai and Westquai sites.
At Klybeckquai, the plan envisions affordable housing, community-oriented amenities and a spacious park that reconnects the Klybeck neighborhood with the river.
At Westquai, land use and building design will not be predetermined but will evolve gradually over time. This approach depends on the complete relocation of the port railway along Altrheinweg.
Approximately 2 hectares on Klybeckquai are currently being used on a temporary basis: as a creative space for ideas and projects in the areas of sport, art, culture, business and catering, and a first step towards the development and appropriation of the area by the population.
