Most of it's boring

Hun the wiser

Many of us associate Attila the Hun—rightly or wrongly, I'm no historian—among the pantheon of genocidal conquerors, alongside Ivan the Terrible; Vlad the Impaler; Genghis the Khan; and President the Pooh. But, as Kenny Rogers once opined, there's someone for everyone; and your views on genocidal conquerors may just depend on what side of the genocidally conquering/conquered divide you stand.

Consequently, I was amused to find this little alleyway in the Kleinhüningen district of Basel:

street sign: Attila-Passage
Dedicated to the king of the Huns, and who's figured on Kleinhüningen's coat of arms since 1603.

It makes me wonder whether, in another millennium, someone, somewhere might name an Adolf-Allee or Иосифстрит. If they haven't already.


Attila the Hun never visited Basel. There appears to be some confusion with the Hungarians. I blame their dirty phrasebook, it was bound to cause trouble.