Apollogrotte Arlesheim

At the foot of Birseck Castle lies the Ermitage, an English landscape garden designed in romantic reverence for nature. The Ermitage is a romantic experience of nature, a place of silence, tranquility, reflection, for some even a place of power. The park, with its man-made ponds and streams, mills, gardener's house and hermitage, is also a playground for children, especially with its rocky cave paths on the ascent to the castle. Various walks and hikes in the vicinity of Gempen, Schönmatt or Ruin Dorneck allow on the descent to enter the Ermitage as a romantic final section.

The landscape garden of the Ermitage is accessible at any time, but the closed facilities (Ruin Birseck and Ermitenklause) are only open in summer, i.e. from May until the end of September. The Arlesheim Tourist Office offers informative and exciting guided tours of the Hermitage.

In 1999, the Hermitage was included in the inventory of protected natural objects of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, is under nature and monument protection, received the Schulthess Garden Prize in 2006 and a stamp is dedicated to it.

Source: Basellandtourismus

Getting there
Public transport: The Ermitage is best reached on foot from Arlesheim train station, where there are connections to streetcar and bus lines. Parking spaces are also available there. From the streetcar stop Arlesheim Dorf, the Ermitage can be reached in about 5 minutes.

Car: free parking is available a few minutes' walk from the Burg Birseck.

Dogs are to be kept on a leash.