Mostly spared from the destructions of the
French Revolution and the wars of
1870–1871,
1914–1918 and
1939–1945, the cityscape of old-town Colmar is homogeneous and renowned among tourists. An area that is crossed by canals of the river Lauch (which formerly served as the butcher's, tanner's and fishmonger's quarter) is now called "little
Venice" ('''').
Architectural landmarks ''. ('''') 's
Madonna of the Rose Bower inside the Église des Dominicains Colmar's secular and religious architectural landmarks reflect eight centuries of Germanic and French architecture and the adaptation of their respective stylistic language to the local customs and building materials (pink and yellow
Vosges sandstone,
timber framing).
Secular buildings • Maison Adolph – 14th century (German
Gothic) •
Koïfhus, also known as Ancienne Douane – 1480 (German Gothic) • Maison Pfister – 1537 (German
Renaissance). • Ancien Corps de garde – 1575 (German Renaissance) • Maison des Chevaliers de Saint-Jean – 1608 (German Renaissance) • Maison des Têtes – 1609 (German Renaissance) • Poêle des laboureurs – 1626 (German
Baroque) • Ancien Hôpital – 1736–1744 (French
Classicism) • Tribunal de grande instance – 1771 (French Classicism) •
Hôtel de Ville – 1790 (French Classicism) • Colmar prison – 1791, formerly a convent built in 1316. • Cour d'Assises – 1840 (French
Neoclassicism) •
Théâtre municipal – 1849 (French Neoclassicism) • Marché couvert – 1865 (French
Neo-Baroque). The city's covered market, built in stone, bricks and cast iron, still serves today. • Préfecture – 1866 (French Neo-Baroque) • Water tower – 1886. Oldest still preserved
water tower in Alsace. Out of use since 1984. • Gare SNCF – 1905 (German Neo-Baroque) • Cour d'appel – 1906 (German Neo-Baroque)
Religious buildings • '''' – 1234–1365. The largest church of Colmar and one of the largest in Haut-Rhin. Displays some early stained glass windows, several Gothic and Renaissance sculptures and altars, a grand Baroque organ case. The choir is surrounded by an ambulatory opening on a series of Gothic chapels, a unique feature in Alsatian churches. • '''' – 1289–1364. Now
deconsecrated as a church, displays
Martin Schongauer's masterwork
Madonna of the Rose Bower as well as 14th century stained glass windows and baroque choir stalls. The adjacent
convent buildings house a section of the municipal library. • '''' – 13th century. Gothic and Renaissance stained glass windows and mural paintings, as well as a wooden and painted ceiling. • '''' – 13th century. Deconsecrated church and convent buildings notable for a richly ornate cloister. Now housing the Unterlinden Museum (see below). • '
– 1371. Deconsecrated church and convent buildings now used as an assembly hall and festival venue ('). • '''' – 1742–1750. Classicist chapel of a former
Jesuit college. • Synagogue – 1843 (Neoclassicism)
Fountains • '''' – 1864 (Statue by
Bartholdi) • '''' – 1888 (Statue by Bartholdi) • '''' – 1898 (Statue by Bartholdi)
Monuments • '''' – 1856 (first shown 1855 in Paris. Statue by Bartholdi, his earliest major work) • '''' – 1894 (Statue by Bartholdi) • Statue '''' − 1902 (in the courtyard of the Bartholdi Museum) •
Statue of Liberty (
Liberty Enlightening the World) replica
Museums , given by the town of Colmar to
Princeton, its sister city, in 1988 •
Unterlinden Museum – one of the main museums in Alsace. Displays the
Isenheim Altarpiece, a large collection of medieval, Renaissance and baroque
Upper-Rhenish paintings and sculptures, archaeological artefacts, design and international modern art. • – the birthplace of
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi shows his life and work through paintings, drawings, family objects and furniture as well as numerous plaster, metal and stone sculptures. A section of the museum is further dedicated to the
local Jewish community's heritage. • '''' – the zoological and ethnographic museum of Colmar was founded in 1859. Besides a large collection of taxidermied animals, and artefacts from former French and German colonies in Africa and
Polynesia, it also houses a collection of ancient
Egyptian items. • '''' – the town's toy museum, founded 1993. • '''' – industrial and technological museum in a former factory, dedicated to the history of everyday technology. • Choco-Story Colmar - museum presenting the history of chocolate, with regional history displays, the ability to taste different chocolates and artworks made of chocolate
Library The Municipal Library of Colmar ('''') owns one of the richest collections of
incunabula in France, with more than 2,300 volumes. This is quite an exceptional number for a city that is neither the main seat of a university, nor of a college, and has its explanation in the dissolution of local
monasteries,
abbeys and
convents during the
French Revolution and the subsequent gift of their collections to the town. ==Transport==