Arlesheim
Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance. The official language of Arlesheim is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, while the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The cathedral has a Baroque organ built by the German builder Johann Andreas Silbermann, based in Alsace, in 1761. The instrument was restored by Metzler in 1959–1962, and is an example of the fusion of French and German organ building styles. It has been used in several recordings, including Lionel Rogg's recording of the complete organ works of J. S. Bach, for Harmonia Mundi France in 1970. Arlesheim is first mentioned in 708. In 1239 it was mentioned as Arlisheim. The protected location on the western foot of the Gempen Plateau encouraged early settlement of the area. Paleolithic Magdalenian culture items from around 10,000 BC were discovered in the Birseck–Ermitage and Hollenberg 3 caves. Birseck–Ermitage was discovered in 1910 by Fritz Sartorius-Preiswerk, and Hollenberg 3 was discovered in 1950 by Martin Herkert. The caves contained traces of fires, spear points carved from reindeer antler, and pendants made from snail and mussel shells. From the end of the Palaeolithic era, Birseck–Ermitage cave contains galets colori, red-stripe-like painted limestone pebbles, and flint tools. From the Mesolithic period (6000–5000 BC), flint tools have been discovered at the Abri overhang at Hohlefels, excavated in 1905 by Fritz Sarasin, and in the Birseck–Hermitage cave. Some funerary objects from the largely unexplored transitional period between the Mesolithic to Neolithic period (around 5200 BC) were also discovered. Several Neolithic ax blades were discovered across the municipal area, with a concentration at Dachsenhöhle and Kleinen Höhle am Hohlefels that were excavated in 1952–1954 by Martin Herkert, Bernhard Hesse, and Andreas Schwabe.