Architectural heritage

COLMAR

The fishmonger's district 

The fishmonger's district is the place where most of the professional fishermen and boatmen of Colmar lived. They were in a powerful corporation. The caught fishes were stored in fish ponds or sold in the fishmonger's district. In 1706 a huge fire...

COLMAR

Saint Martin Church 

Built between 1235 and 1365 the Saint Martin’s collegiate church is an important example of Gothic architecture in Alsace. Because of a fire in the south tower in 1572 the framework and all the roofs were destroyed. The tower was replaced three...

COLMAR

Little Venice 

The « little Venice » is the name given to the course of the Lauch in Colmar. This name probably came from the original line of the houses on both sides of the river, which serves the southeast of the city. This district starts behind the...

COLMAR

House of Heads 

Built in 1609 for the shopkeeper Anton Burger, the house of heads is attributed to the architect Albert Schmidt, who also made the former protestant presbytery and the house of the St. John's Knights. The house of heads, a fine building dating from...

COLMAR

Tanner's district 

The tanner’s district is constituted from high wood framing houses and half timbered houses, mostly dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The houses were used by tanners who worked and lived there with their families. They were also used for...

COLMAR

The Pfister House 

The Pfister house was built in 1537 for the hatter Ludwig Scherer, who made his fortune with money trading in the Val de Liepvre. Despite its medieval features, the house is the first example of architectural renaissance in Colmar. With its...

COLMAR

The Dominican Church 

Started in 1283, the construction of the Dominican church mainly dates back to the first half of the 14th century. It is an important example of the mendicant orders architecture, even if the Dominicans arrived in 1278 were temporarily driven out...

COLMAR

Koifhus 

The Koïfhus or the former customs house had a strategic place at the confluence of the Grand’Rue and the rue des Marchands, two of the major roads in the medieval city. Imagined since 1433, the construction of the current building was ended in...

COLMAR

The former guard house 

Built on the former chapel Saint-Jacques (first mentioned in 1286) which served a time as town hall, the building has been converted in 1575 for secular purposes. Above a vaulted ossuary, the building had on the first floor a barrack room and rooms...

COLMAR

Statue of liberty 

This statue made of resin is a 12-meter high replica of the Statue of Liberty. It was sculpted to commemorate the 100th death anniversary of the sculptor Auguste Batholdi, who was born in Colmar and created the "Liberty lightening the world". Many...

COLMAR

Former Hospital - Mediatheque 

After the departure of the Franciscans from their monastery, the superior of the religious order in the province sold the buildings to the city of Colmar in 1543. The monastery was then converted into a hospital, but it was struck by lightning in...

COLMAR

Court of Appeal 

Intended for the Oberlandesgericht or High Tribunal of Reichsland, which was too cramped in the palace of the Sovereign Council, this building was inaugurated in 1906. The construction started in May 1902 on the former site of the experimental...

COLMAR

Adolph House 

Built around 1350, this house is considered to be one of the oldest in Colmar. It owns its name to the Adolph family, who removed the gothic picture windows at the end of the 19th century. Those picture windows, from the late 14th century, show with...

COLMAR

Prefecture 

The prefecture of Haut-Rhin began the construction of its new building in 1862. Their former building, in the hotel of the Pairis Abbey (now City Hall), where it was installed since its inception in 1800, was too cramped. The new building, built on...

COLMAR

The Synagogue 

Built from 1839 to 1842 on the site of an old farm, the synagogue of Colmar is the seat of the Israelite Consistory and the Grand Rabbinate of the Haut-Rhin. The presence of the Jewish community in the city is testified since the 18th century. The...

COLMAR

Former Dominican Convent (today public library) 

Colmar’s public library is located in the former Dominican convent. The Dominican brothers arrived in Colmar in October 1278, preceded by the Dominican sisters of Unterlinden. They began to build their church in 1283. The cloister, real haven of...

COLMAR

The House of the St. John's Knights 

The architecture of this house is reminiscent of Venetian palaces. The house has a two-floor gallery of arched arcades, surmounted by a stone balustrade, which links together two buildings. One side of the building overlooks the road and the other...

COLMAR

Saint Matthieu Church 

The Franciscans, arrived in Colmar before 1250, started in 1292 the construction of a building which was ended only during the first half of the 14th century. With the Dominicans church, this monument is one of the major achievements of the...

COLMAR

St Martin's circle 

Created in 1880 and reused in 1890 by the priest Etienne Frey, the St Martin’s circle was imagined to provide cultural activities for men, to promote physical exercises and supervise youth. In 1895, the architect François-Xavier Kreyer ends the...

COLMAR

Former St John's commanderie 

The St John’s Knights of Jerusalem founded a first hospital in the late 12th century. Attacked by the local clergy who saw a form of competition, the St. John’s Knights asserted themselves only in 1227 thanks to the support of the Pope Grégory...