EIn May 1870 it was 33 butchers, supported by the Slaughter House Administration, who sent the suggestion in May 1870 to the government for the building of this ferry. The ferry, which should connect the lower Kleinbasel with the outside St. Johann, was primarily meant for the transport of cattle, which the butchers no longer wanted to drive to the city. At that time twice a week at least 50 cattle from Germany as well as fifty pigs and just as many sheep had to dross the Rheinbrücke. Additionally two to three herds of sheep each with up to 200 animals had to be herded to the French railway-station each week.
On the 1st March 1871 the government decided: “One does not occur dermal on the production of such a ferry.” With this, the Künstlergesellschaft who wanted to take over this ferry enterprise was able to change nothing. Only in November 1894, when when both sides of Rhine settled ever more industrialised, schubladisierte was the desire of the Künstlergesellschaft was formulated again.
Now it was the inhabitants of the St Johann district who themselves wanted a direct connection into the Horberg district. On 2 February 1895 was it so far: The concession for the building of the “slaughter house ferry” was given. In 6 July it was removed, and on 27 July 1895 the “Johanniter ferry” could be handed over to the public.
Obviously the “Fähri Maa” gave too little consideration to the local shipping traffic. The two jetties for example caused an obstacle for the ships driving upstream, because they jutted out 9 metres into the Rhine. Thus the current reason with the pricks no more could not be achieved with higher water level outside of these bars. Also the left bank in different places was interspersed with jagged rock banks, which damaged the hull at low-water. It One had to provide with powder and dynamite for remedy.
Most passengers, whom the slaughter house ferry carried over the river, were workers of the outer St Johann and Spalen districts, who earned their living in the factories on both sides of Rhine. These workers were however not content that they had to pay a “medieval toll” for the passage. The Residents Association of the outer St. Johann district sent a petition to the government about the “ferry tax” for the working population. At the same time the Association knew that access to the ferry on the Grossbasel side could be ”lethal with ice “. The Künstlergesellschaft responsible for the ferry operation corresponded to the request by offering the workers a subscription of 1 Frank for 40 trips and/or of 3.50 Franks for 100 trips.
The slaughter house ferry was in operation up to the inauguration of the Dreirosenbrücke (three-rose bridge) on 1 September 1934. It is worth mentioning that the passenger traffic, which had originally expected to be insignificant proved to be the largest financial success in the history of the Basel ferries. Over 10.5 million trips had been sold. In 1989 the service in the place of the former slaughter house ferry was returned to service. The name of the St. Johanns ferry was changed and the small ship was christened with the name “Ueli” (Jester), and the mechanisms in the landing areas were modernized, but the trip over the water remained an unchanged experience.

Source: Basel ferries,
Gs publishing house 1992 (ISBN 3-7185-0124-4)