The bridge forming the starting point of Oberer Rheinweg, is called Wettsteinbrücke. Wettstein was the name of a famous mayor who successfully kept Basel unharmed by the Thirty Year's War. Not even famine troubled the town. When the Peace of Westphalia was negotiated, he achieved Switzerland's legal independence from the German Reich.
Situated at Oberer Rheinweg is the “Haus zum roten Schneck”, one of the city's narrowest medieval artisan houses. Internally it is now connected to the “Haus zum Kleinen Sündenfall”. Allegedly the living rooms are located in “Roten Schneck”, whereas the bedrooms are said to be in “Kleinen Sündenfall”.
