Radio Basilisk has broadcast from Basel, Switzerland since November 1, 1983, when Basel radio pioneer Christian Heeb put it on air. Reaching roughly 100,000 listeners a day from studios on the city's Marktplatz, it built its identity on hits, good mood, and heavy local content, and for a long stretch after launch it was, relative to its coverage area, the most listened-to radio station in the country.
Four Decades, Several Owners
Radio Basilisk's ownership has changed hands more than most stations its age. Basler Zeitung and Internationale Treuhand AG each took a 20 percent stake in 1997, a stake founder Heeb bought back in 2002 before selling the whole station to Zurich's Tamedia later that same year. A new Swiss radio and television law forced Tamedia to divest in 2007, sending the station to Basel lawyer Martin Wagner, who then sold it on to current owner Matthias Hagemann in 2010, keeping it a locally run operation through every transfer.
Named for the Creature That Guards the City
The station's name is not decoration. According to Basel legend dating to the Middle Ages, a basilisk, part rooster, part serpent, part toad, once lived in a cave beneath the Gerberberglein in the city center, its gaze said to be lethal. The creature has appeared in Basel's coat of arms since at least 1448 and shows up across the city today in 28 working basilisk fountains and the four massive statues installed on the Wettsteinbrücke in 1880, each over three meters tall. A station built on local pride could not have picked a more Basel-specific mascot.
Built Around Local Voices
Radio Basilisk leans hard into that local identity on air, with segments like Basler Geschichten (Basel Stories) and Bâlexikon covering the city's history and dialect, and a running feature called Heimwehbasler that lets expatriate Baslers phone in memories and greetings from wherever they have ended up. The Basilisk Morgenshow anchors the weekday schedule with what the station bills as good mood, key news, and its best hits.
Why Tune In
Radio Basilisk offers more than four decades of hit radio wrapped in genuinely local programming, named after the legendary creature that has watched over Basel since medieval times. For listeners who want their music paired with real civic identity, it remains one of Switzerland's most enduringly local commercial stations.