From Rührberg in Germany to Sankt Chrischona in Switzerland

Park in the Rührberg hikers’ car park (80 spaces), on the edge of the forest, between Inzlingen and Wyhlen.

(S/E) With your back to the road, take the path at the far left of the car park and follow it for about 100 metres. First turn left then right to join the path towards Saint Chrischona in Switzerland, passing the information boards and signposts.

(1) Just before the border at the “Grenzstein 100” marker, take the path on the right, marked with a Yellow Diamond. Follow this wide path along the edge of the forest until you reach a fork.

(2) Continue straight on along the path marked with a Yellow Diamond, cross the fields, and pass three green farm sheds just before the forest.

(3) Continue straight on through the forest, towards Langmatt Farm and Inzlingen. Stay on this path until the next marker, located at the edge of the forest, about 300 m before the farm.

(4) Take the path on the left towards Sankt Chrischona and follow it between the edge of the forest and the Chrischonatal valley. You will enter Switzerland 150 m further on. Ignore the steps leading up to the left and continue to the end of the path.

(5) Continue along the Inzlingerweg, straight ahead, and enter the forest. The path, still marked with Yellow Diamonds, forms an ‘S’ shape. Cross two junctions and continue right along the Inzlingerweg until you reach the signpost for Sankt Chrischona.

(6) Take the street on the left, then the path on the left towards the church. Go round the church on the right and reach the highest point on the terrace. Continue to the right, then turn right, leaving the hotel on your left, to reach a five-way junction.

(7) Take the second right, then turn onto the small gravel path on the left leading to the Waldrain restaurant. Take the road to the right then left to go round the restaurant and rejoin the signposted path.

(8) Turn left and head towards the TV tower. Continue straight on and rejoin the junction from the outward journey, just after the border.

(1) Continue straight on, following the same path in the opposite direction to the outward journey, until you reach the Rührberg car park (S/E).

Public toilets are located at Chrischonarain 210, between the church and the forest.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/fr-fr/decouvrir/a-sacred-location-with-sweeping-views-st-chrischona/

In spring 2026, logging work will take place in the forest between (5) and (6). Some paths will be closed during the work.

St. Chrischona: Since 1840, an Evangelical mission has been established at St. Chrischona, comprising a training college for pastors, preachers and missionaries, and the motherhouse of the deaconesses with a retirement home. A hotel, a conference centre, two restaurants, a farm and farm buildings complete the complex. Numerous benches invite visitors to sit and reflect.

The church of St. Chrischona is a former pilgrimage church and is said to take its name from the saint who died there on her return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to Cologne. The present church dates from 1503–1516 and was restored between 1974 and 1976. There is a magnificent 360° panorama from the church’s viewing platform, where an orientation table is installed. On a clear day, you can see the Alps. This is the highest point in the canton of Basel-Stadt. The bell tower is accessible and from the top, there is a 360° view of France, Switzerland and Germany. Give the bell tower entrance door (Turmaufgang) a good push, as it is a bit stiff. There is a passageway on the right leading into the church, which is open to visitors.

The TV tower, 250 m high (including a 98 m antenna), is the tallest structure in Switzerland (the tallest building being the Roche 2 tower in Basel, 205 m, 50 storeys). Built between 1980 and 1983, it replaced the 136-metre-high tower dating from 1961, which itself had replaced a 30-metre-high tower from 1954. This new tower, which came into service in 1984, weighs 23,000 tonnes and is used to relay TV, radio and telephone signals, but also serves as a water tower (200 m³) for the municipality of Bettingen and houses, among other things, a weather station. It is not open to the public, except for special guided group tours. We admire this modern masterpiece of concrete and steel with its impressive triangular base, 54 metres on each side, visible for miles around across the three countries.