The Basel Sky Battle

On August 7, 1566, just five years after the Nuremberg event, citizens of Basel, Switzerland witnessed black spheres appearing in the sky, seeming to battle near the sun. Samuel Coccius documented the event in another famous woodcut.

The Date

On August 7, 1566, during the morning hours when the sun was already up, clear conditions provided mass visibility for this public event.

The Witnesses

Basel citizens, numbering in the hundreds, saw the phenomenon across the city in a public display that was well documented through contemporary accounts.

What Appeared

The objects were black spheres, numerous in count, appearing near the sun, moving rapidly, and appearing suddenly in the sky.

The Display

Witnesses saw spheres multiplying, appearing to fight each other, turning red, then fading in a dramatic show that captivated the city.

Duration

The event lasted several hours during morning observation, with gradual changes occurring before it eventually stopped, making it an extended phenomenon.

Samuel Coccius

Local chronicler Samuel Coccius documented the event, created a woodcut, and published an account that serves as a contemporary record and primary source.

The Woodcut

The image depicts the sun in the sky, black spheres, citizens watching below, the city of Basel, and stands as an important historic document.

Contemporary Interpretation

People believed this was a religious omen, God’s message and warning sign, interpreting it as a supernatural event through their 16th century worldview.

The Nuremberg Connection

Notably, five years earlier a similar event occurred in the same region during the same era, with a pattern being observed between the two incidents.

Geographic Cluster

Central Europe saw both the Nuremberg event in 1561 and Basel in 1566 in the same general area, raising questions about related phenomena with unknown causes.

Differences

Basel showed black spheres while Nuremberg featured multiple shapes, though both occurred near the sun, were mass witnessed, and were thoroughly documented.

Natural Explanations

Some suggest parhelion (sun dog), atmospheric effects, or sunspot activity, but the unusual nature of the spheres doesn’t fully explain the observations.

UFO Interpretation

Researchers note the specific shapes, repeated pattern across multiple locations, and contemporary documentation, all of which suggests a genuine unexplained phenomenon.

Religious Context

The Reformation era brought religious turmoil where signs were actively sought and omens were important, providing the interpretive framework and historical context for understanding these events.

The Records

Both events have woodcuts that survive, written accounts from multiple sources, and are well documented, providing valuable historical evidence.

Significance

Basel is significant for creating a pattern with Nuremberg, having mass witnesses, contemporary art documentation, a strong historical record, and being an important pre-modern UFO case.

Legacy

The Basel event, combined with Nuremberg, suggests something extraordinary occurred in 16th century Central Europe. Whether natural phenomena or something else, these mass sightings produced some of history’s first UFO documentation.