By 1877 it was already thought to be a good idea to connect the St. Alban-Tal with Kleinbasel. The reason being the increase in residential districts there. The Künstlergesellschaft sought a concession. On the 30th May 1894 the permissions was given and on 30 September of the same year the St. Alban Ferry made its first crossing.

Wires 257 m long were strung from the top of the Oser factory over to the Burgvogteiverwaltung. On the Kleinbasel side it was necessary to erect a pillar, 4.5 metres in height, so that the running line of the boat could be held at an even height of 16 metres between the two embankments. This meant that the 4 metre variation between high and low water dis not present a danger. The 29mm thick, 27m long rope weighed in at 1,400 kilograms. To carry this wire 14 guide lines had to be anchored on the Rhine. The installation costs amounted to 10,000 Franks and although with the launching of this ferry no festival was organized, the Basele people came in droves.

In the financial year beginning in 1894 the following was reported by the Künstlergesellschaft: “We believe that this ferry corresponds to a need, which is shown by the fact that in the first three months, by 31 December 1894, 15,987 passengers were carried. The first quarter of this year was less favourable however, mainly because of the unusually low water level the service had to be stopped for a period of six weeks.” Turnover figures were still substantially smaller in the next annual report: “The net return of the ferry amounts to 1,080.34 Franks.”

Since start up “Wilde Maa” was never going to be a thriving business, and with the building the St. Alban bridge, the Künstlergesellschaft decided on 29th April 1954 to sell the ferry and all its equipment to the then current ferryman.

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