Münchenstein

Münchenstein is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland, on the southern edge of the Basel area. It is first mentioned in 1196 as Kekingen and in 1270 as Geckingen, and the current form of the name, recorded in 1295, which means the rock of the castle of the Münchs. The first part of the name refers to the builders of the castle and the second part to the stone foundations on which it stood. The Münchs could not hold the village and castle for long as their own property: in 1324 they were handed to the Count of Pfirt, who lent them back, and by inheritance they passed to the Dukes of Austria. In 1470 financial problems forced the Münchs to pawn the village and castle to the city of Basel. The municipality covers about 7.18 square kilometres and had 12,128 residents in June 2021.