Colmar

This has to be one of the best villages for photoshoots. Every turn you take, there are brightly colored buildings, German timbering, cute shops, and canals. There’s a part of Colmar called “little Venice” and it has canals to walk up and down, along with flowers everywhere.

We learned that the color of the houses used to indicate a person’s trade. For example: bakers would have yellow houses whereas butcher’s would have their homes painted red.

Around the time of the 30 years war, this changed and houses began being painted to indicate religious affiliation. Red for the catholics and blue for the protestants.

Now, the homes are painted so as to create beautiful backgrounds for pictures, and little significance remains in the color choices. Mainly, they just try not to have the same color as their neighbor.

It’s really easy to take yourself on a walking tour of Colmar. We simply downloaded this map and followed the purple route to walk the city.

We were surprised to pass the Statue of Liberty on our way into Colmar. We did not know that Colmar is the birthplace of Bartholdi--the artist responsible for the creation of the Statue of Liberty. (I have now officially seen the Statue of Liberty in New York, the one in Paris, and the one just outside Colmar... are there any more??)

There is a museum dedicated to Bartholdi in Colmar and you’ll find some of his work scattered throughout the city. For example: atop the MAISON DES TÊTES the house of heads you’ll find a statue by Bartholdi on top of the building. This building now hosts a museum of 105 grotesque masks and used to be a place where wine was traded.

The Pfister house is also a fun building to stop by. It was built in 1537 by a wealthy man named Louis Scherer who earned his fortune in the silver mines of Lièpvre Valley.

He based his home heavily on medieval architecture.

A few more places of interest include:

1. The tanner’s district. 17 (petite) rue des tanners. This little part of the town is where tanners would use their roofs and windows on the top floors to dry out animal hides that they had prepared in the nearby streams/canals. These houses date back to the 17th and 18th century, have no basements or cellars, and are quite wonky-shaped in places.

2. The Fishmonger’s district. 23 Quai de la Poissonnerie. Most of the houses here were for fishermen who would trap fish in the nearby canals and along the rivers. This area has several cafés and restaurants as well as a nice walk along the canals.

3. Little Venice 25 Rue Turenne. This area used to be houses of rural winemakers. This is supposed to be one of the more romantic areas of Colmar. One of our guides on the balanques (the flat-bottomed gondolas you can take along the canals) told us that everything in Colmar is romantique... even the toilets. As we passed the old homes along the river, you could see the chutes from each house that used to empty into the rivers. Ew. Ew. Ew. Thank goodness for modern plumbing.

Yes, caught with our noses out, I know...

5. The Covered Market 25 Rue Des Tanneurs. Unfortunately, this was closed due to COVID while we were in Colmar, but it is normally a place where twenty or so traders come to sell fresh, quality produce. Farmers used to use the canals to pull up right to the back of the building and unload their produce to sell in the market. The market was established in 1865 and still operates today. It’s a great place to get fruits and vegetables, meats, cheese, baked goods, fish, and local goods.