• Home Page
  • UFO Topics
  • UFO Photos
  • UFO Cases
  • Sighting Reports
  • Report a Sighting

UFO Case Report:

UFO sighting over Basel, Switzerland in 1566

Date: August 7,
Location: Basel, Switzerland

A 16th century woodcutting depicts this scene in which dark spheres were witnessed hovering over the town of Basel, Switzerland in 1566. The spheres appeared at sunrise, 'Many became red and fiery, ending by being consumed and vanishing', wrote Samuel Coccius in the local newspaper on this date.

16th century woodcut of spheres seen over Basel, Switzerland, August 7, 1566. (Wickiana Collection, Zurich Central Library)


Classification & Features

Type of Case/Report: StandardCase
Hynek Classification: DD
# of Witnesses: Multiple
Special Features/Characteristics: Multiple UFOs

Full Report / Article

Source: 16th century woodcutting and newspaper (credit: UFOs at Close Sight)

A 16th century woodcutting depicts a scene in which dark spheres were witnessed hovering over the town of Basel, Switzerland in 1566.

On August 7, 1566, at dawn, many citizens of Basel (Switzerland), frightened, saw during several hours the black spheres involved in a formidable aerial battle, invading the sky of their city: "at the time when the sun rose, one saw many large black balls which moved at high speed in the air towards the sun, then made half-turns, banging one against the others as if they were fighting a battle out a combat, a great number of them became red and igneous, thereafter they were consumed and died out," wrote Samuel Coccius, the student in "crowned writings and liberal arts" who consigned the strange events in the city's gazette.


Case ID: 485 edit: 485

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for scientific, research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.