Of the residents of the Haus zum Kirschgarten, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784-1817) achieved the greatest international fame. As the third son of the builder Johann Rudolf Burckhardt (1750-1813) and his second wife Sara Rohner (1761-1825), he grew up in this magnificent city palace. Under the name "Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdallah" he traveled the Middle East from 1809-1817 on behalf of the British research society "African Association". His ability to immerse himself in foreign cultures and yet write objectively about them makes him a unique contemporary witness of Arab cultures. Burckhardt's travel reports and descriptions of the Bedouins became important sources for cartography and ethnography in the 19th century. Today he is best known as the rediscoverer of the Nabataean rock city of Petra and the great Egyptian temple of Abu Simbel. Even before he could fulfill his actual mission - the exploration of the areas between the Nile and the Niger - he died in Cairo at the age of 32.

Biography of Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

1784 November 25 Birth in Lausanne as the third son of Johann Rudolf Burckhardt and his second wife Sara Burckhardt-Rohner
1784-1799 Childhood and youth in the Haus zum Kirschgarten in Basel
1799-1800 Attends boarding school in Neuchâtel
1800-1805 Studies at the universities of Leipzig and Göttingen
1805 Short stay in Basel
1806-1809 Job search in London, studies in Cambridge
1809 Commissioned by the "African Association" to explore the interior of the still unknown continent
1809 Journey from London to Aleppo
1809-1810 Stay in Aleppo, studies of Arabic language and culture
1809-1812 Various journeys from Aleppo and Damascus to Palmyra and the Hauran, among others
1812 Departure for the journey from Damascus to Egypt
1812 22 August Rediscovery of the Nabataean rock city of Petra
1812 Arrival in Cairo
1813 First Nubian journey and return to Esna
1813 March 22 Discovery of the great temple of Abu Simbel in Upper Egypt
1814 Second journey through Nubia to Arabia
1814-1815 Pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam in Mecca and Medina
1815 Return to Cairo
1816 Journey to the Sinai Peninsula
1817 October 15 Death in Cairo