Colmar

The first time I visited Colmar was because I had HEARD that it was a nice little town in the Alsace region. You know, when you read about the place in a guide book or magazine and always the same beautiful picture pops up. In the case of Colmar or even for the whole Alsace region it is a picturesque place called "Petit Venise" and the Fishmonger's district at Quai Poissonnerie.

During the first visit it was already decided: have to go again!! This time because I KNEW that it IS a lovely town. Apart from all the scenic spots which are of course worthwhile to see it was a feeling for history that you can literally grab and touch in the streets and places.
The Alsace region is famed for its food so I longed to visit again the same little cheese shop I discovered the first time and eat at the same delicious restaurant.

Have you ever bothered to look at shop signs?
Here in Colmar they form part of the historical street scenes. Not only the buildings itself are old and worthwhile to see, but also all the small details.

This former Dominican convent, with its Gothic cloister which is considered the finest in Alsace, was built between 1269 and 1289. From the mid-19th century, it housed the Unterlinden museum, which is renowned for its Rhenish masterpieces dating from the end of the middle ages. The Issenheim Retable by Matthias Grünewald is displayed in the former chapel, and in front of the chancel is the statue of the Colmarian painter and engraver, Martin Schongauer (v. 1450-1491), made by Bartholdi in 1860.

Built in 1609 for the merchant Anton Burger, who in 1626 became the Stettmeister (mayor) of this town, this building, which is documented from 1724, owes its name to the large number of masks and grimacing faces which decorate the facade. The magnificently sculpted oriel rises to three levels. The statue of the Alsace barrel-maker, made by Auguste Bartholdi in 1902, took up position at the top of the gable, after the building was used as the Colmar Bourse aux Vines (Wine Exchange).

Founded in 1803, the municipal library is housed in the former Dominican convent buildings, which were rebuilt between 1733 and 1742 around the medieval cloister. Its ancient origins are a result of the bringing together of the prestigious monastic libraries of Haute Alsace, and it contains over 1200 manuscripts, the oldest of which dates from the 8th century, more than 2700 early printed books and almost 5000 prints from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

In 1277, despite the opposition of the canons of Saint Martin, the Dominicans were called to Colmar and began construction of their buildings here. The first stone of the church's chancel was laid in 1283 by King Rudolph of Hapsburg, and the building was completed during the first half of the 14th century. Superb stained glass windows survive from this period. The chancel contains the Retable of the Virgin of the Rose Bush, a masterpiece executed in 1473 by Martin Schongauer.

A former noble property, this residence was owned by the Goll family in the 18th century. Voltaire rented 2 rooms there between 1753 and 1754: the philosopher had received an invitation from Frederick II and withdrew here after falling out with the ruler of Prussia, to complete his "Annales de l'Empire" with the help of lawyers from Colmar. The courtyard and neighbouring buildings at number 12 housed the Molly brewery during the 19th century. A fine wooden gallery dating from 1598 survives along the south facade.

The house where the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) was born, the son of a Prefectoral councillor, who died in 1836, this residence was built in the 15th century and transformed in the 18th century into an elegant hôtel particulier (town mansion). Since 1922 it has housed the largest collection of works, models and souvenirs of the designer of the Statue of Liberty enlightening the world, unveiled in New York in 1886. In the inner courtyard the "Grands Soutiens du monde" group (bronze 1902) can be seen.

A jewel of the Renaissance, this residence was built in 1537 for Ludwig Scherer, a wealthy hatter from Besancon. The paintings that decorate the facade, attributed to Christian Vacksterffer, represent the Germanic Emperors of the 16th century, the Evangelists, the Church Fathers, allegorical figures, and biblical characters and scenes. Its current name comes from the merchant Francois-Xavier Pfister, who acquired it in 1841.

Documented since the 14th century, and considered to be one of the oldest residences in Colmar, Maison Adolph owes its name to one of its owners, who added the wonderful Gothic bay windows in the second half of the 19th century. On the north facade, on the second floor, the lattices of the central window are reminiscent of the bays of the collegiate church of Saint Martin, and are probably from the same period.

This Renaissance structure with its remarkable loggia, was built in 1575, from the framework of the Saint Jacques chapel, which sheltered the ossuary of the former cemetery of the collegiate church of Saint Martin. Originally intended to be a town hall, this building then housed the town guard. A nut market was once held under the arcades of the eastern part.

Erected from 1235 on the site of a previous building, this collegiate church is the most imposing Gothic church in Middle Alsace. The south facade of the transept, with the Saint Nicolas portal, is the finest part. The strange roofing of the tower replaces a spire which collapsed following a fire in 1572. As the seat of the constitutional bisphoric of the Haut-Rhin district during the French revolution, Saint Martin had cathedral status during that period.

Built between 1778 and 1782 as the town residence of the Cistercian abbey of Paris, in the Orbey valley, this vast building became the regional centre of administration during the revolution, before housing the Haut-Rhin Préfecture from 1800 to 1866. In this capacity it received a wide variety of official visits, the Kings Charles X (1828) and Louis-Philippe (1831), then the Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1850). As the Town Hall since 1866, between 1918 and the present day it has been visited by most of the Presidents of the Republic.

The former corporation of farmers was one of the largest in old Colmar. Its meeting place or "pall" was built in 1626 on the site of a medieval building, and is above all remarkable for its Renaissance door frame. During the first half of the 19th century, the building was used for Jewish services before the construction of the synagogue. It now houses an administrative canteen.

An original Jewish community was present in Colmar at the beginning of the 13th century, with its focus around what is now Rue Berthe Molly (formerly Judengasse). The community was persecuted and subsequently expelled during the 15th century, but was given the opportunity to re-establish itself in Colmar after the time of the French revolution. This synagogue which was built between 1839 and 1842 in the ancient style, is the seat of the Jewish Consistory and of the Chief Rabbinate of the Haut-Rhin.

This imposing building was constructed between 1736 and 1744, on the site of some of the Franciscan convent buildings, which were already used as a hospital from the middle of the 16th century. Freestones originating from the old town fortifications were redeployed for its construction, under the supervision of the abbot Armand-Gaston d'Andlau. The building now houses the University's Institute of Technology.

Built between the end of the 13th century and the mid-14th century, the Colmar Franciscan convent church was acquired by the town in the middle of the 16th century. In 1575 it became the Protestant church of Saint Matthieu. At the same time the convent buildings, which have since disappeared, were converted into a hospital. From 1715 until the second world war, the chancel was used as a Catholic chapel for the hospital, hence the presence of the two turrets on the top of the roof.

Bounded by the Rue de Montagne Verte, Rue des Tripiers, Rue des Tanneurs and the place de l'Ancienne Douane, the Tanners quarter which was restored between 1968 and 1974, is the epicentre of the protected old town centre. Its tall, half-framed houses built during the 17th and 18th centuries, often have a final open-worked level, used by the craftsmen to dry their pelts.

Lazare de Schwendi (1522-1583) was a diplomat turned commander under the Holy Roman Empire for which he was rewarded with the domain of Hohlandsberg, near Colmar. According to legend, the vine stern held by his statue evokes the Tokay vines brought back from his campaigns in Hungary, which in fact the pinot gris established in Alsace from the Middle Ages. This work by Bartholdi was exhibited at the 1897 Paris Exhibition and then moved to this fountain which was inaugurated in 1898.

Address: at Place de l'Ancienne Douane

The name of Koifhus, which was given to this building, recalls the economic functions of this centre in the control and taxation of imported, exported goods and of goods in transit. The ground floor of the main building, which was completed in 1480, was used as a bonded warehouse for goods and the first floor room was used for meetings of the Décapole deputies, a federation of ten imperial towns in Alsace. The north wing is a 16th century addition, and the lodge on the left was the birthplace of General Rapp, one of the great generals of Napoleon, in 1771.

This is the High Court of Justice and Parliament of Alsace, the sovereign council designed to mark the royal wish to assume possession of the province, established in Colmar in 1698, in the former municipal house known as the "Wagkeller". This building, which was completely remodelled between 1764 and 1771 under the supervision of the architects Chassain and de Rungs, after the dissolution of the parliaments under the Revolution, became the seat of the Appeal Court in the 19th century. It currently houses the District Court.

Théophile-Conrad Pfeffel (1736-1809), who lost his sight in 1757, devoted his life to literature and teaching: in 1773 he founded a military academy for training young Protestants unable to attend the Royal Academy, and in 1803 was made president of the Evangelical Consistory of Colmar. He left a collection of poems, fables, stories and short stories. This statue which was made by Charles Geiss in 1927 is a sandstone copy of the original work by André Friedrich (1859).

In brick and freestone, with a metal frame, supported by cast-iron pillars, the hall of the covered market was built between 1863 and 1865 by the architect Louis-Michel Boltz and is typical second Empire work. The doors open onto the canal, to enable the market gardeners to unload their flat-bottomed craft. In the south-west corner, a niche was created in 1869 to receive the statue of the Petit Vigneron, by Bartholdi.

The Poissonnerie quay, where fish caught mainly in the Ill were stocked and sold, is documented back to the 14th century. Part of this district was damaged in a large fire in 1706, but some houses were rebuilt with the use of older materials. The whole area has undergone urban renovation campaigns between 1978 and 1981, and now falls within the conservation area.

The building of the former Turenne school, built in the 16th century, has since 1985 housed the Colmar Natural History Museum, which was founded in 1859. Initially established in the Unterlinden premises until 1940, the collections were transferred in 1959 to a house which has since disappeared in the Water Tower park, where they were viewed until 1983. The main departments are zoology, mineralogy and ethnography.

The bridge over the Lauch marks the start of the Krutenau, a community united around the memory of Martin Stockmeyer: this boatman, nicknamed the "Hercules of Colmar", was in February 1791 largely responsible for the victory of the Revolution in the face of an uprising of the aristocratic party. The road owes its current name to the marshal Turenne, who used it in 1674 for his solemn entry at the head of 800 cavalrymen. The picturesque line of old houses, which are accessible by small boat, is the reason for the name "Little Venice".

The Hospitaller order of Saint Jean of Jerusalem settled in Colmar between 1191 and 1210, and constructed the buildings of their Commanderie in the second half of the 13th century. The original chapel which was completed in 1268 was remoddelled in the 16th century; some aspects of the street and courtyard facades remain, including the portal with geminate tympanum. The remainder was rebuilt in the 19th century and the building now houses a private educational establishment.

Built in 1608 by the architect Albrecht Schmidt, this residence consists of two wings perpendicular to the street, which frame a closed internal courtyard with two floors of galleries and balustrades, in the style of the Venetian palaces. The building was dismantled in the 19th century and the original elements were rebuilt identical to the original. Despite its name, this house has no connection with the Commanderie of the knights of the order of Saint Jean of Jerusalem.

Jean Roesselmann was a provost of the Imperial town of Colmar in the 13th century, and died on 25 October, 1262 during a victorious battle defending the freedom of the city, against the Bishop of Strasbourg's supporters. This statue is the work of Auguste Bartholdi, inaugurated in 1888, and bears the features of Hercule de Peyerimhoff, the mayor deposed by the German authorities, a few years after the annexation of Alsace, for refusing to submit to the new regime.

The buildings of the former Jesuit College were erected in 1720 and after their expulsion from the kingdom, in 1765, then became the Collège Royal and subsequently the Central Ecole of the Haut-Rhin in 1796, and finally the Imperial Lycée in 1856. The north wing was built in 1785 and 1787 by the architect Pierre Michel d'Ixnard, to house the meeting hall and the library. A bronze by the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, called "Maternal sorrow" adorns the entrance hall.

This work by Auguste Bartholdi was unveiled in 1894, and celebrates the memory of Gustave Adolphe Hirn (Logelbach 1815 - Colmar 1890), one of the great men of science of the 19th century. Hirn was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher and a corresponding member of the Institute, and affiliated to numerous European academies. The application of his research in thermodynamics and in petroleum technology made him one of the pioneers of modern industry.

The Colmar water tower is representative of the Wilhelminian neo-Gothic style, typical of the period of annexation of Alsace by the German Empire after the 1870 war. This massive tower, 53 metres high, built between 1884 and 1886 under the supervision of the architect J.B. Huen and the engineer H. Grüner, remains the oldest and most imposing of the surviving water towers in Alsace. With a capacity of 1200 m³, its reservoir ceased to be used in 1984.

Designed by the architect F.X. Kreyer, and constructed by the contractor CH. Matter and inaugurated on 22 September 2895, this imposing edifice in neo-Gothic style, 72 metres long, consists of a vast gymnastics hall, reminiscent of the nave of a church in its geminate windows, flanked on the west by a building ornamented by twin turrets, and on the east by a chapel. During the years 1920-1930 it was the venue for major sports and musical events.

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was born in Colmar on 2 August 1834 and died in Paris on 4 October 1904, and is one of the great French sculptors of the 19th century. This pupil of Ary Scheffer made his name in 1855 with a magnificent statue of General Rapp. Bartholdi created numerous public monuments of patriotic and republican inspiration, and remains the inspired creator of the Statue of Liberty enlightening the world, now in New York harbour. This monument was erected in 1907 and is the work of the statue sculptors Hubert Louis-Noel and Antoine Rubin.

In the 19th century, the Royal, subsequently the Imperial, Court of Colmar, based itself in the palace of the former Sovereign Council of Alsace. After the annexation by the German Empire, the institution assumed the name of Oberlandesgericht, the High Court of the State of Alsace-Lorraine. Work was started on this building in 1902. This imposing edifice was a neo-Baroque inspiration, and is typical of the Wilhelminian official architectural style. The building was completed in 1906 and still houses the highest jurisdiction of the departments of Eastern France.

Originally, from the Consulate period to the second Empire, the departments of the Haut-Rhin Préfecture were located in the current Town Hall in Rue des Clefs. Construction of the new prefecture building, of Louis XIII inspiration, was implemented under the supervision of the departmental architect, Laubser, and completed in 1866. The edifice is now both Hôtel du Préfet and Hôtel du Dépatement, the Prefectural and Departmental Administrative headquarters.

Unveiled in 1864, the Auguste Bartholdi fountain, which is topped by the statue of Armand-Joseph Bruat (1796-1855) an admiral in chief of the French navy during the Crimean war, was destroyed in 1940. The allegories of the four continents and the fountain's basin were re-created in 1958; the original heads, in sandstone, survive at the Bartholdi museum; the African is the origin of Dr Schweitzer's vocation, the Oceanian has the feature of Yves Saint-Laurent's great grandmother, wife of a friend of the sculptor.

A military ground for Exercises was developed on the premises in 1793 , and was named "Champ-de-Mars". It was developed into a public park in 1808 in its southern part, while the Place Rapp area remained the privileged site of military review as well as festive and sportive demonstrations. The Rapp monument was erected in 1856, built by Bartholdi. Jean Rapp was born in Colmar and was one of the great generals of Napoleon.

Construction of the convent for the Dominican nuns of Sainte Catherine, known as the Catherinettes, was started before 1371 and completed in 1436. Its cloister was rebuilt between 1578 and 1581, as were all the convent buildings from 1753. They now house departments of the National institute for agronomic research, and teaching rooms. The former church which has been significantly remodelled, is the venue for numerous cultural events.

In order to replace the former building on the Rue des Augustins, at the site of the current Magistrates' Court, the Municipal Theatre was built between 1847 and 1849 under the supervision of the architect Boltz. It was constructed on land which was once included in the enclose of the Unterlinden Dominican convent. The painted ceiling is the work of the Parisian artist Boulangé and constitutes the most notable feature of the interior décor.

First we were skeptical, because at such a prominent location we thought of little value for money. On the contrary it was full house, locals or tourists we could not keep apart. Despite our skepticism we entered. But we were positively surprised by the taste of the food and can recommend this restaurant for its Alsatian food.

Have a look at this magnificent cheese shop, run by the family Quesnot. They know for sure what they sell, having their own cellars for maturation of cheese at 32 rue de la Fabrique, 68530 Buhl. You may find them on one of the weekly Alsatian markets in other towns like Mulhouse or Guebwiller as well.

Here you will find almost everything special about food, many of which is also ideal for small presents from your trip to Colmar. It is easy to imagine the chefs of the neighbouring restaurants coming in and have a look for something exotic to surprise their guests.

You can hardly pay less for an overnight stay. Unless other cheap hotels like "Formule 1" or "Bonsai Hotel" it is located very close to the city centre, just a five minutes walk to the Unterlinden museum or tourist office. Okay you can hardly expect anything special for the price of 27€ for a 1 or 2 person room. But hey, it's cheaper than some youth hostels and here you are not sleeping in a bunk bed but in a double bed. If you don't mind steel furniture or shared facilities than this is the ideal choice for saving money. Breakfast in the morning is worth the additional 8€ per person and you can choose from the continental breakfast buffet. For people travelling by car, a free public parking place is situated in front of the hotel.

Note: The page was originally created on Nov 5, 2007 for Virtualtourist.com. It contributed 43 tips and 142 photos to the Colmar Travel guide, was Top Rated by the user community and ranked No.1 of the Top 5 Colmar Writers. The site was closed down on Feb 27, 2017.