Guided tours of the church tower

Our tower tours offer a unique opportunity to experience the church and the district from a new perspective and immerse yourself in the fascinating history of the building.

From the top, a spectacular panorama opens up over Basel and the surrounding regions. You can look in all four directions from the outside galleries - perhaps you will spot a well-known building from above. Another highlight is the climb up to the bells - these historic sounding bodies are monumental and amaze young and old alike.

Bookable daily (Mon-Sun) from 9am to 7pm
Latest start: 6pm
Special times on request
Languages spoken: German or English
Tower ascent: 124 steps (75 of which are spiral stairs)
Good footwear, sure-footedness and a head for heights required
No age restrictions
Good lighting
The Terms and Conditions of Kulturkirche Paulus apply

1 hour guided tour of the church and church tower
followed by an aperitif at the UM-Kaffeemobil (summer) or in the foyer (winter)
Included in the aperitif: 1 drink (white wine, beer, juice, mineral, Prosecco or “St-Pauline” drink) and nuts/chips
35 CHF per person (5–20 people per group, 3 groups at the maximum)

Request a date

What to expect

Historical clockwork

The tower floor houses the historic clockwork, built in 1865 by Ungerer in Strasbourg. The quartz master clock is connected to four dials, each two metres in diameter, and was initially looked after by city clockmaker Gustav Bürgin-Stutz until it was taken over by the Basel electricity company (now IWB) in 1931. The clockwork was completely overhauled in 1960 and 1999. Most recently, a pendulum synchronisation by radio was installed in 2016 and the accuracy was increased to +/- 5 seconds.

The clockwork and tower clock are maintained by IWB; they offer special tours at irregular intervals.

The bells

Five bronze-cast bells with a total weight of 8502 kg are located in the bell base. They were made by H. Rüetschi in Aarau, one of the oldest and last bell foundries in Switzerland. Each bell bears a biblical verse from St Paul's letters, the name of the church with the year 1901 and a Basle crozier. Open triple windows on all sides of the tower serve as sound holes for wide audibility.

The bells can be heard three times a day in partial peal and on Saturday evening in full peal. A section of our audio guide is also dedicated to the bells.

Nesting boxes for kestrels

Under the supervision of the Basel Region Wildlife Research Centre, two nesting boxes for kestrels have been maintained on the spire floor for many years. They are regularly monitored by the specialist centre, and it is particularly important to leave the animals undisturbed during the breeding season from April to July. Breeding varies from year to year (from zero to half a dozen young birds).

The spire floor is not accessible to the public and is only entered for inspection by wildlife researchers or for roofing work.