Follow the peach poodles, Neo, and see more beautiful Colmar. I heeded the advice of Morpheus and followed the lady with the dogs and turned off Bolshaya Street to the right towards the center. By and large, I have not yet begun to walk around Colmar, although I managed to dash off two huge reports. So, I walked along one street and walked along the Lauch embankment. It was time to go to the very center of the historical part of Colmar.

The starting point of this part of the tour of Colmar was again Square of the Six Black Mountains. About the square and the fountain on it, but I liked the romantic and gloomy name of the square so much that I mentioned it again.

Right peeps out Lyceum Bartholdi. Perhaps this is the most famous native of Colmar. Does everyone know who is the author of the Statue of Liberty in New York?

I wandered a little through the streets in the western part of Colmar. There are no special attractions here, but the streets and courtyards themselves are very picturesque.

On the fifth day of the trip, I began to lack female society and attention. This unfulfilled need sublimated into the fact that I began to hunt cyclists. Well, in the sense of trying to photograph them.

So, the first attraction in this series - Voltaire's house. The famous philosopher of the 18th century lived here for almost a year and was completely "delighted" with his house and the whole of Colmar. "A nasty house in an even uglier town" - that's how he described the place. He was struck by the extreme piety of the Colmarians and at the same time their bad temper: "They go to church every day and constantly confess, but at the same time they hate each other."

For the first time on a trip, one of my companions runs away from the pictures more than me. At the same time, my friend is also an aesthete-minimalist, he filmed everything exclusively on a mobile phone.

In the same courtyard as Voltaire's house, there is a former brewery. Hops were dried in this imposing "birdhouse". Mogendovid in the window of the brewery building has nothing to do with the Jews. In Colmar, the six-pointed star was the symbol of innkeepers and brewers.

Next door is another attraction - a covered wooden gallery of the 16th century.

A riot of November colors! In the background you can see another object named after the Bartholdi sculpture, this time a restaurant.

Another cyclist. She was too fast for my camera.

Girls without bikes, I also stealthily photographed. But because of the stealth, the photos came out so-so, here is one tolerable one.

In pursuit of girls, I accidentally fell out of the boundaries of the Old City and ended up on a huge Field of Mars. We will walk along it in the final part of the report on Colmar. For now, I'll just show Monument to Uncle Annecy. This is the pseudonym of the artist Jean-Jacques Waltz, who was born and died in Colmar. He was an ardent patriot of Alsace and France. By and large, ninety percent of Alsatian souvenirs will exploit his work in one way or another. I bought a bottle of Gewurztraminer as a gift and there was a picture of Annecy on the label, I bought a box of cookies - and there was Annecy. In addition, eight signs of his work survived in Colmar. The most complete collection of his works is in.

Already in November, Colmar begins to prepare for Christmas.

On the site of these houses there was a city wall, i.e. I'm already standing outside medieval Colmar. In the building on the right, a medieval courtyard (five centuries old) has survived; a long secret passage leads to it. I tagged it, but somehow forgot to go there.

It is difficult to single out any central place in Colmar. There are several contenders for this title. One of them is the area around Dominican Church.

And here is the Dominican church itself. Outwardly quite strict and simple. It is worth going inside to look at the local masterpiece "Madonna in the Arbor of Roses" by Martin Schongauer (15th century).

Neo-Gothic portal of the 19th century.

In Colmar there is a very powerful Museum Unterlinden. Considered one of the coolest in France. But I had only five hours to Colmar, and this is not enough even for a simple walk. In general, did not go.

On the left, one of the most beautiful houses in Colmar is located at the beginning of the Rue des Heads. The facade is very elegant, elegant balcony.

Head Street, a shop that sells chocolate heads. Coincidence? Don't think!

And the answer is that there is another attraction on this street. House of Heads(1609). It has a completely crazy facade decor, in particular, the house is decorated with 106 heads, hence its name.

At the top of Golovodom there is a figurine of the Cupbearer made by, as you can already guess, the same Bartholdi.

The bay window is most impressive.

There is a cozy courtyard inside the Golov's house, admission is free.

In fact, I was already walking around Colmar for the third day. It's just that the first two walks took place in the evening or at night after trips along. Therefore, I was already well oriented in the city, especially since the center is not so big. Familiar houses came across from time to time. Let's say we had dinner in this red half-timbered Pfeffel restaurant.

Since we started talking about food, I’ll tell you what I managed to try from Alsatian cuisine in Colmar. The first dish is bikof(Baeckeoffe). Three types of meat (lamb, beef and pork) aged in white wine and stewed with potatoes. , they brought me a whole tub of this same beakof, so I barely crawled out of the restaurant again. But unlike shukrut, I didn’t like bikoff, I don’t like stew with potatoes, cabbage, yes. Attentive readers immediately noticed that the plate says Composer Georg, not Pfeffel. Indeed, I took it in another restaurant.

And in Pfeffel I took meat snails Fleischschneke, also a typical Alsatian dish. Minced meat is wrapped in a very thick noodle dough and then cut into such "snails". But again, the roll didn’t work for me, I ate it just for show, too rural food. Pay attention to interesting wine glasses with a green stem. Also an Alsatian theme, I drank Gewürztraminer exclusively from such glasses. Before leaving, I bought six pieces for my home, but as it turned out, Gewurztraminer, which I loved, is rarely sold in Moscow stores or costs ten (!) Times more than in Alsace. So while the glasses are idle.

Here we parted ways with a friend. He went to dinner, and I decided to fanatically bypass the entire center of Colmar. I didn't want to waste an hour for lunch.

Square in front of the Unterlinden Museum.

Remember, I wrote about such decor in the form) (on the facades of half-timbered houses? If you forgot, then I remind you that it is called a "curule chair" (similar to it in outline) and only persons of noble birth had the right to such decoration. . in the house on the right lived, albeit a small, but well-born type.

Traveling by car in the eastern part of France my wife and I ended up in the beautiful town of Colmar. This was the second point of our trip after Strasbourg. The city of Colmar belongs to the province of Alsace, which has always been a stumbling block with neighboring states. Not just like that, there is so much German in architecture, culture, cuisine and other areas of life. Local residents in every way demonstrate their belonging to France, but, nevertheless, the majority speaks the German dialect.

Colmar - one of the most beautiful towns in Alsace. Ancient streets and pavements, half-timbered houses, ancient stone buildings - all this creates an indelible impression. In addition, Solmar is the capital of Alsatian wines, it is not for nothing that Route du Vin - the Wine Road originates from here.

Get to beautiful Colmar (Colmar) possible from the cities of Strasbourg or Basel (Switzerland). If you get there by public transport, then you can get there by train, in about 30 minutes. And by car - about 90 km from Strasbourg.

Colmar is located in the flat part of the province, on the banks of the river Loches. It is approximately equally distant from Swiss Basel and French Strasbourg.

In total, we spent a day and a half in Colmar. Stayed at the hotel Hotel Balladins located at: Colmar, 5 Rue des Ancetres. On the first evening we were not very lucky - it was raining heavily, dispersing all the tourists. However, on the second day the weather was fine, and we completely devoted ourselves to exploring the city.

Colmar is so gamonic that all tourists leave it under the strongest impressions. The winding streets of the old town, the canals and the colored facades of the buildings form a unique "corporate style" of Colmar. It is sometimes even called an open-air museum.

Inside the old city, various styles of architecture surprisingly took root. Here you can easily find masterpieces of early Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, Classicism and Renaissance heritage. Around the old town, the architectural picture is more coherent, as most of the buildings date back to the Renaissance.

In addition to the "stone" sights, Colmar is interesting for tourists for several more reasons.
Colmar is the driest city in France, which contributes to the development of winemaking. The wines of this region are predominantly white and sparkling (eg Cr?mants d'Alsace). In August, a wine festival is held in Colmar, with dancing, concerts and, of course, tasting.
By the way, the wine festival is not the only festival held in Colmar. For example, Colmar hosts an annual jazz festival in September, and a film festival in October.

Attractions Colmar

The main museum of the city of Colmar is the Unterlinden Museum (Mus?e d'Unterlinden). Within the walls of the ancient building, a rich collection of art from various eras, including baroque and renaissance, is collected. By the way, the building in which the museum is located is a Dominican monastery of the 13th century.
Like all museums, Unterlinden has its main exhibit, which has provided worldwide fame. This is the Isenheim altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald.
Unterlinden exhibits paintings, weapons, archaeological finds, antique furniture and much more. You can take pictures without a flash.
Another museum of the city of Colmar - The Bartholdi Museum. This museum, as the name implies, is entirely dedicated to the personality of Bartholdi - the author of the Statue of Liberty. The museum displays various paintings, sketches, sculptures, as well as Bartholdi's personal objects and furniture. The museum was opened in Colmar, because the artist and architect was born here.
As you know, the Statue of Liberty, which now stands in New York Harbor and is considered a symbol of freedom and independence, was presented to the United States by France.
Here is the official website of the Unterlinden Museum: http://www.musee-bartholdi.com/musee/

For tourists with children in Colmar there is a wonderful Museum of toys and model trains. And adults, for sure, will be interested in wandering around the three floors of the museum, surrounded by toys. Here you will find the very first Barbie doll, vintage clockwork cars, puppets and a bunch of other toys. And the whole floor is given over to an exhibition of all kinds of locomotives. Some adult visitors walk around the museum with glowing eyes, as if they were 6 years old again, and their parents brought them to the Central Children's World.
Here is the official website of the Museum of Toys and Models of Steam Locomotives: http://museejouet.com/

Beyond the museums in Komare there are interesting churches worthy of the attention of every tourist.

First of all, this is the Collegiate Church of Saint-Martin - the main cathedral of the city. The church was built in the period from 1234-1365. on the site of another, earlier church. The collegiate church at one time suffered from a strong fire, since then one of the bell towers has not been restored. Inside the church is generously decorated with sculptures. It is noteworthy that Martin Schongauer's Madonna in the Arbor of Roses was previously kept in this church before its thieves. The painting was later found and is now kept in the Dominican Church of Colmar. That's actually her.

Another interesting church of Colmar is Saint Matthew. The acoustics here are excellent, which is why the International Colmar Festival, led by Spivakov, is held in this church.

Now let's talk about the other sights of Colmar, without which this city is impossible to imagine.
The House of Heads is a landmark from the category of the Kremlin in Moscow. Well, if it speaks of importance and fame. The House of Heads is located in France, Colmar, Rue des T?tes, 19. The fame of one of the old mansions of Colmar was brought by sculptures with grimacing faces scattered all over the facade of the building. Currently, an expensive Alsatian restaurant and hotel is open in the House of Heads.

The Pfister House is an equally interesting building in Colmar. The house was built in 1537 by the hatter Ludovic Scherer. It is a medieval building made of stone and wood, with a long wooden gallery and a two-story corner bay window. The frescoes on the facade depict the German emperors of the 16th century, the Holy Fathers, evangelists, other biblical characters and scenes from the bible.

Romantic Colmar adds a quarter called Petite Venise, "Little Venice". Petite Venise - a district in Colmar, the former quarter of gardeners, fishermen and leather tanners, stretches along the river Lauch (Loches). This river once served as their main means of communication. The name of the district is not accidental - a small city on the water is similar to Bruges, which in turn is called the "Venice of the North". A chain of neatly restored houses of the 14th-18th centuries lined up along the river. The best views of the most picturesque ensembles of half-timbered houses in the city open from the Rue des Tanneurs and the Quai de la Poissonnerie, which stretch along the river, as well as from two bridges: on Saint-Pierre Boulevard and near Place Six black mountains (place des Six Montagnes Noires). Colmar, Colmar - the most beautiful city of Alsace, France photo 8

Interesting for tourists is the Quarter of tanners. Typical for this region half-timbered houses have an unusual attic structure. For tanners, ventilation was an important condition, so the attic consists of open windows.

Don't miss the opportunity to visit Colmar's famous market, where you can buy the most delicious products of the Alsatian region.
You can treat yourself to fragrant pastries on Bakers Street. Judging by the name, there were all kinds of shops here, but even now little has changed. Prepare your nose for inhaling enchanting aromas. Address: France, Colmar, Rue des Boulangers.

Instead of a conclusion, I want to say that I highly recommend visiting the city of Colmar if you find yourself in Elsa. This is indeed a must-see, without which the understanding of Alsace will not be complete.

The city of Colmar in France is rightfully famous as one of the coziest corners of old Europe. Located in the north-east of the country in the province of Alsace, the city changed owners more than once during the 7th century of its existence, moving from the French to the Germans and back. In 1918, Colmar finally became part of France. Voltaire once said that this city is "half French, half German."

Walking through the quiet, calm streets of Colmar, there is a feeling of failure in time. Half-timbered houses, immersed in the greenery of ivy and grapes, spiers and towers of Gothic cathedrals, blue lines of canals in the "Little Venice" - everything around is saturated with the aroma of the Middle Ages. The interweaving of eras and styles makes the town extraordinarily attractive for tourists who roam the narrow streets in droves, looking at quaint fairy-tale houses, sculptures and signs, taking beautiful photos for memory.

See with my own eyes

Once in France and once in Alsace, it is worth making a short trip from Strasbourg to Colmar to see this fabulous town with your own eyes and stroll along its narrow streets, enjoying the architectural creations of the masters of the German Renaissance.

Expert opinion

Knyazeva Victoria

Guide to Paris and France

Ask an expert

There are few attractions in Colmar, but all of them are of interest to an inquisitive tourist who is passionate about history.

IN the building of the Dominican monastery houses the main city museum Unterlinden, the collection of which is represented by paintings, engravings, weapons and antique furniture from different eras. The pride of the museum is the Isengi altar by Matthias Grunewald, which is a masterpiece of world significance.

67,260 inhabitants

The largest center on the Alsace wine road, a real gastronomic paradise, ingenious works of art in museums and in the open air, canals, fountains, half-timbered houses decorated with geraniums - all this is Colmar, without a doubt, the main city on the Alsace wine road.

A bit of history

The name of the city comes from the word "dovecote", which in 823 sounded like "Columborium" and is mentioned in the annals in connection with Emperor Louis the Pious, who often stopped here while traveling around his vast lands.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Emperor Frederick II, grandson of Barbarossa, granted the city the rights of an imperial trading city. At the same time, the main monastic orders came here: Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinians and began to build their churches.

Quai Poissonnières

In the middle of the 13th century, the Bishop of Strasbourg tried to appropriate the rich city and the lands around, but was defeated thanks to the brave son of the tanner Resselman, and at the end of the 13th century the city acquired the status of a free imperial city with the right to administer justice. In the 14th century, Colmar became a member of the League of Alsace cities, the so-called Decapoli, which united the 10 largest trading cities in an alliance aimed at defending against an external enemy and resolving disputes within. The city began to print its own coin.

In the 15th century, luck ran out. First, the plague broke out, then the city with part of Alsace was pledged to the Duke of Burgundy (the German emperor urgently needed money). The Burgundians sent such a cruel governor, Pierre de Hagenbach, that the Alsatians themselves tried to pay the debt as quickly as possible, and when he tried to stay, he was captured and cut off his head, and the sword is still kept in the Unterlinden Museum.

In the 16th century, the time of the Reformation comes, which, not the first time, managed to gain a foothold in the city. And in the 17th century, Colmar could not escape the destruction and horrors of the Thirty Years' War. After its completion, under the treaty, part of the territory of Alsace was transferred to France, but the city tried several more times to return to the empire and get back its rights as a free city. After one of these attempts, the city fortifications were destroyed, and Louis 14 personally came to look at the defeated city. When the Germans came again at the end of the 19th century, more than 3,000 inhabitants chose to leave for France, since such a right was granted to them.

Be that as it may, all these historical "squiggles" left their mark on the image of the city, which can be safely classified as an open-air museum.

Walking tour of Colmar

Usually acquaintance with Colmar begins with the square near the museum Unterlinden: there is a tourist office nearby where you can get maps and materials, and a large parking lot where you can leave your car.

Museum Unterlinden, literally "under the lindens". Previously, a monastery was located here (since the 13th century), which was dissolved during the Revolution, and since 1848 the premises were given over to the museum. The museum has a fairly large collection, especially since in January 2016, after restoration, it was solemnly opened by the President of France, Francois Hollande. Everything from the Stone Age to the present is collected here. It is worth paying attention to a wonderful Gothic building, a collection of medieval art (canvases by Cranach the Elder, Holbein the Elder, Schongauer), tapestries, stained glass windows. The main masterpiece is located in the former chapel - Isenheim altar, created by the master Matthias Grunewald for the Antonite monastery in Isenheim. The folding altar, or folding, consists of 24 panels telling the Passion of Christ and the story of St. Anthony, the patron saint of the monastery, where the sick were treated with "Anton's fire" (a common disease at that time associated with ergot poisoning, which led to hallucinations and gangrene).

Part of the museum is dedicated to the history of the city, here you can just see the famous sword with which the executioner of Colmar cut off the head of Hagenbach, as well as the reconstruction of some historical premises.

And another interesting part is the painting of the 20th century, where Renoir, Picasso, Nicolas de Stael (Polyakoff) are represented.

Not far from the museum is the most beautiful house of Colmar, built in the Renaissance style: house with heads It got its name from the 106 grotesque masks that adorn the façade. The house was built in 1609 by order of the merchant Anton Burger, decorated with a three-story bay window and an impressive pediment. From the middle of the 17th century, the house changed hands until, at the end of the 19th century, a wine exchange was established here to promote Alsatian wines. By her order, a native of the city, Auguste Bartholdi, made a metal figure of a winemaker that adorns the building. There is also a restaurant serving local cuisine. The exchange eventually left the house, the restaurant remained.

Church of the Dominicans is another iconic route in Colmar. Construction began at the end of the 13th century and continued for several decades. The result is one of the most beautiful temples belonging to a mendicant order in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Do not look for a high tower here: it is not supposed to humble beggarly orders. But the church can boast of real masterpieces, some of them are now in the Unterlinden Museum (Schongauer's altar), and the main work, “ Madonna in the Rose Bush “, is exhibited here.

Martin Schongauer. Madonna in the Rose Bush. Photo from the Internet.

Nearby a few houses is another temple: Collegiate Church of Saint Martin which in the city is affectionately called "munster", that is, the cathedral. Indeed, the church built in the 13th-14th centuries was a cathedral for 12 years (1790-1801). With the advent of the Reformation, the Protestant church was located here. The church is beautiful in appearance, with its flying buttresses and towers.

Church of Saint Martin

Just a couple of steps from here is Museum of Auguste Bartholdi . The world famous sculptor was born and lived in Colmar. Here you can see the layouts of his works (a significant number of them can be seen walking around the city), and, of course, the layout of the most famous work: Liberty that illuminates the world.

Here, next to it, is another beautiful house that disputes this title with the house with heads. This House Pfister, named after the owner of the late 19th century. The building itself in the Gothic style was built in 1537 by a hatter from Besancon, who became rich not only in trade, but also on income from a share in silver mines near his native city. And yet, for financial reasons, he had to sell the house to the new owner, a silk merchant from Savoy, Claude Sisan, who commissioned the decoration of the house, characteristic of the Renaissance: the facade is decorated with biblical and secular subjects, portraits of emperors of the 16th century and evangelists. The turrets adorn the corner bay window and the staircase tower.

House Pfister

One of the most impressive architectural monuments of the city - building of the former customs. In Alsatian, it is also called "Coyfhuis" - a symbol of the economic power of Colmar at the end of the 15th century. There was once a customs house where they collected duties for goods that were brought by water to Colmar, there were warehouses right there, and on the second floor there was a hall where representatives of the Decapolie gathered to discuss important issues. There was also a magistrate. Nearby were other buildings that can be classified as the "business center" of medieval Colmar: a mint, a slaughterhouse, and a market not far from here.

Former customs

Opposite the former customs is fountain by Bartholdi . This is a tribute to Baron Schwendy, who, according to legend, brought Tokaj grapevine from Hungary to Alsace in the 16th century. They say it's a fairy tale because it's just Pinot Gris, sometimes called Alsatian tokay.

Fountain of Schwendi

Colmar is often compared to Venice: the city stands on two rivers, and a stream, formerly used for mills, also flows through the historic center. Just at this stream, behind the old customs, the most famous quarter of old Colmar begins: “ little Venice ". Here, by the way, not everything is so simple. Located next to the customs tanners' quarter who needed water in the canal and in the river to wash the skins, which were then dried in the attics of tall houses. Please note that the attic floor is the highest: just because of the skins. So first it's the Kozhevennikov quarter.

View of the tannery area

Where the city market used to be, where vegetables, fruits and fish were brought from the surrounding area, at the confluence of the stream into the Lauch River, now there is an indoor market of the late 19th century. At that time, such designs appear throughout France. And this is where it starts Quai Poissonnières (that is, the fishing embankment). Strange as it may sound, but until the beginning of the 20th century, Colmar was a city of fishermen who brought here fish caught in the river, stored and sold it right there. Boatmen also lived here, who were engaged in transporting goods along the river.

Covered Market and Poissonnières

And only when we see that the road is gone and the houses are on both sides of the Lauch, then we find ourselves in " Venice". In fact, this is the area of ​​Krytno (Krutenau), where once peasants lived, grew vegetables and fruits that supplied the city, and, of course, cultivated vineyards.

Returning to the old city from "little Venice", we again see the creation of Bartholdi: this time Resselmann fountain , the son of a tanner who saved the city from possible dependence on the bishop of Strasbourg in the 13th century.

Speaking about the works of the chief sculptor of Colmar, there are many of them. You can walk in park on the Champ de Mars, where the statue of General Rapp is located, near the Unterlinden Museum there is a monument to Martin Schongauer, who lived almost all his life in Colmar and most of his works were written here. And at the entrance to the city from Strasbourg, Liberty meets us, lighting the way for the world. famous The Statue of Liberty, the original of which welcomes visitors to New York and is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, was conceived as a gift from France to America and Bartholdi won the competition.

Statue of Liberty

He worked for a long time, 15 years passed from the moment he received the order to the opening of the monument. And not one: for such a huge construction, the knowledge of specialists was needed, which turned out to be Gustav Eiffel. He was responsible for the frame on which the whole structure rests. According to various sources, either the wife or the mother served as a model for the sculptor. Whichever one of them is, freedom has the face of an Alsatian woman. The copy that stands in Colmar was put up in 2004 on the centenary of the author's death. With a height of 12 meters, this is the tallest statue of Liberty in France, and there are enough copies here. I marked it on the map for you, it is far from the center. There is also an original monument to infantrymen along the way, "Red Devil" , is called.

Monument to the infantry

There is another monument in the city that deserves attention. More precisely, a copy donated by the sister city of Brussels. It is located on the right side of the high court tribunal, not far from the old customs house, I don’t mark it, the quest will be empty for you. You already understood the name of the monument-fountain. Pissing boy.

Museums

Unterlinden. Open daily, except Tuesday, 10:00-18:00, Thursdays until 20:00. Entrance ticket 13€.

Church of the Dominicans. Daily, except Tuesday, 10:00-17:00, Friday and Saturday until 19:00. Entrance ticket 6€.

Bartholdi Museum. Open daily, except Tuesday, 10:00-12:00 and 14:00-18:00. Entrance ticket - 5 €.

There are several other museums in the city, but these are the main ones.

By the way, along Lauch along little Venice they ride boats, urging passengers to bend down when they pass under the bridge. The path there is not long, from the Turenne bridge (the beginning of Venice) to the market, in a straight line. Whether it is necessary? You decide.

Colmar is a beautiful little town in the northeastern part of France. It is the hometown of the famous painter and engraver Martin Schongoer and the sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, who designed the famous Statue of Liberty. Some say that Colmar is the most beautiful city in Europe and it's hard to argue with this opinion.

Colmar is a picturesque Alsatian city, with well-preserved old quarters that immerse you in the Middle Ages. The city has a huge number of delightfully beautiful buildings that were built in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance.

Despite the fact that the city is quite small, it looks like a large open-air museum. However, in size it is the third city in Alsace, as well as in terms of population.

Here you can see any of the architectural styles, from Gothic to postmodernism. There is also a special climate that makes the city the driest in all of France.

The city hosts many important events and festivals, a jazz festival, a wine festival, a film festival and many other interesting events that attract tourists from all over the world. Tourists also enjoy visiting 5 city museums and the exhibition complex

If you decide to visit France, do not forget that you need to renew or make a passport in advance, as this usually takes some time. By taking care of the registration in advance, you can avoid many problems and feel comfortable before traveling to France. If you do not want to waste time on your own, contact the specialists from