With around 300 guests from the worlds of business and politics in attendance, the Swiss Museum of Transport, together with the port and shipping industry, today opened the new exhibition ‘Rhine Ports – Our Gateway to the World’. The event was hosted by Nik Hartmann. Musical entertainment was provided by Guggen bands from Basel and Lucerne. 

The exhibition demonstrates why the Swiss Rhine Ports (SRH) are indispensable for Switzerland’s security of supply: large quantities of grain, petroleum products and containers enter the country via the Rhine – as Europe’s most important waterway, it connects Switzerland directly to international trade routes. Inland waterway vessels transport goods efficiently, thereby relieving pressure on road and rail networks. Combined freight transport, in which goods are transhipped between ships, lorries and trains, plays a particularly important role. Today, the SRH ports form Switzerland’s central transport hub on the international freight corridor between Rotterdam and Genoa. In addition to cargo ships, tourist passenger ships also operate on the Rhine. The ports in Basel are also the starting and finishing points for many river cruises. 

Comments on the opening 

“The Basel Rhine ports give our landlocked country direct access to the sea and connect Switzerland with the world. They play a central role in supplying our country. I am delighted that, as part of the new exhibition, we can present Basel as a modern and interactive port city; this underlines the national importance of shipping,” said Kaspar Sutter, Member of the Cantonal Government of Basel-Stadt, at the opening. Martin Ettlinger, Director of the Swiss Museum of Transport: “Everyone knows that Switzerland is a landlocked country, but hardly anyone thinks about how goods still manage to reach the country reliably. The exhibition provides answers to this question and inspires visitors to experience the world of Rhine shipping for themselves.”

Experience it, don’t just read about it

The exhibition at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne invites visitors to discover this infrastructure and the people behind it: with selected exhibits, a walk-in passenger cabin, a modern wheelhouse, simulators and interactive stations. Video portraits offer a glimpse into everyday life on the Rhine – and anyone who fancies it can throw a rope round the bollard or steer a ship through Basel. 

‘Rhine Ports – Our Gateway to the World’ is now open to all visitors in the Shipping, Cable Cars and Tourism Hall.