Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means '' Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is t ...

department and

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administr ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The third-largest commune in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

(after

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

and

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department and of the subprefecture of the Colmar-Ribeauvillé

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

. The city is renowned for its well-preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks, and its museums, among which is the Unterlinden Museum, which houses the '' Isenheim Altarpiece''. Colmar is situated on the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the "capital of Alsatian wine" (').

History

Colmar was first mentioned by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

in his chronicle about Saxon wars. This was the location where the Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat held a diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of a

free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

by Emperor Frederick II in 1226. In 1354 it joined the Décapole city league.G. Köbler, ''Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder'', 7th edition, C.H. Beck, Munich, 2007. The city adopted the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

in 1575, long after the northern neighbours of

and

Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin department, the town lies on the Ill river, from the Rhine and t ...

. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, it was taken by the Swedish army in 1632, which held it for two years. In 1634, the Schoeman family arrived and started the first town library. In 1635, the city's harvest was spoiled by Imperialist forces while the residents shot at them from the walls. The city was conquered by France under King

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

in 1673 and officially ceded by the 1679 Treaties of Nijmegen. In 1854 a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

epidemic killed many in the city. With the rest of Alsace, Colmar was annexed by the newly formed

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War and incorporated into the Alsace-Lorraine province. It returned to France after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

according to the 1919

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

, was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1940, and then reverted to French control after the battle of the " Colmar Pocket" in 1945. Colmar has been continuously governed by conservative parties since 1947, the Popular Republican Movement (1947–1977), the Union for French Democracy (1977–1995) and the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Soci ...

(since 1995), and has had only three mayors during that time. The

Colmar Treasure The Colmar Treasure or Colmar hoard is a hoard of precious objects buried by Jews of the Holy Roman Empire at the time of the Black Death pogroms. The Treasure was found in 1863 in the wall of a house in the medieval ''rue des Juifs,'' in Colmar ...

, a hoard of precious objects hidden by Jews during the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

, was discovered here in 1863.

Geography

Colmar is south-southwest of

, at 48.08°N, 7.36°E, on the Lauch River, a tributary of the

Ill ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

. It is located directly to the east of the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

and connected to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

in the east by a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

. In 2017, the city had a municipal population of 69,105, and the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

of Colmar had a population of 199,234 in 2018. Colmar is the center of the

arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé The arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé is an arrondissement of France in the Haut-Rhin department in the Grand Est region. It has 98 communes. Its population is 211,312 (2017), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement ...

, which had 211,312 inhabitants in 2017.

Climate

Colmar features an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

( Köppen: ''Cfb''), but the latter is significantly modified by the city's far inland position with cold, dry winters and warm to hot, wetter summers. The city has a sunny

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

and is one of the driest cities in France, with an annual precipitation of just , making it ideal for

Alsace wine Alsace wine or Alsatian wine (french: Vin d'Alsace; german: Elsässer Wein; gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, d'r Wii vum Elsàss; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, de Win vum Elsàss) is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily w ...

. It is considered the capital of the Alsatian wine region. The dryness results from the town's location next to mountains, which force clouds arriving from the west to rise, and much of their moisture to condense and fall as

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

over the higher ground, leaving the air warmed and dried by the time it reaches Colmar. The city is therefore closer to a continental climate and winter and summer temperatures can sometimes be the coldest or hottest in France.

Population

Main sights

Mostly spared from the destructions of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and the wars of 1870–1871, 1914–1918 and 1939–1945, the cityscape of old-town Colmar is homogenous 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 Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

" (').

Architectural landmarks

Martinsmünster Colmar Vordere Seitenansicht

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

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

Secular buildings

*Maison Adolph – 14th century (German

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

) * Koïfhus, also known as Ancienne Douane – 1480 (German Gothic) *Maison Pfister – 1537 (German

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

). *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 The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

) *Ancien Hôpital – 1736–1744 (French

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...

) *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 Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. 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 disaffected as a church, displays Martin Schongauer's masterwork ''La Vierge au buisson de roses'' as well as 14th century stained glass windows and baroque choir stalls. The adjacent

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

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. Disaffected church and convent buildings notable for a richly ornate cloister. Now housing the Unterlinden Museum (see below). * ' – 1371. Disaffected church and convent buildings now used as an assembly hall and festival venue ('). * ' – 1742–1750. Classicist chapel of a former

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

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 The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, ...

(''Liberty Enlightening the World'') replica

Museums

* 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. * Musée Bartholdi – 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 Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, it also houses a collection of ancient

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

ian items. * ' – the town's toy museum, founded 1993. * ' – industrial and technological museum in a former factory, dedicated to the history of everyday technology.

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,

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The c ...

s and

s during the

and the subsequent gift of their collections to the town.

Transport

The small regional Colmar Airport serves Colmar. The railway station Gare de Colmar offers connections to Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Besançon, Zürich and several regional destinations. Colmar was also once linked to

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, in Germany and on the other side of the

, by the Freiburg–Colmar international railway. However the railway bridge over the Rhine between

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway ...

and Neuf-Brisach was destroyed in 1945 and never replaced.

Education

Senior high schools in Colmar include: * * Lycée Camille Sée * Lycée polyvalent Blaise Pascal * Lycée polyvalent Martin Schongauer * Lycée privé Saint-André * Lycée professionnel privé Saint-Jean * École privée Mathias Grunewald Colmar shares the ( Upper Alsace University) with the neighbouring, larger city of

. Of the approximately 8,000 students of the UHA, around 1,500 study at the ' (IUT) Colmar, at the Colmar branch of the ' and at the ' (UFR PEPS). The ''École Compleméntaire Pour L'Enseignement Japonaise à Colmar'' (コルマール補習授業校 ''Korumāru Hoshū Jugyō Kō''), a part-time supplementary Japanese school, is held in Colmar.欧州の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）
(). Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Retrieved on 10 May 2014. "Chateau Kiener 24, rue de Verdun, 68000 Colmar, FRANCE" At one time classes were held at the ''Centre Cultural de Seijo''.

Music

Since 1980, Colmar is home to an international summer festival of classical music ' (also known as '). In its first version (1980 to 1989), it was placed under the artistic direction of the German conductor Karl Münchinger. Since 1989, it is helmed by the Russian violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov.

Economy

Colmar is an affluent city whose primary economic strength lies in the flourishing tourist industry. But it is also the seat of several large companies: Timken (European seat), Liebherr (French seat), Leitz (French seat), Capsugel France (A division of

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfize ...

). Every year since 1947, Colmar is host to what is now considered as the biggest annual commercial event as well as the largest festival in Alsace, the ''Foire aux vins d'Alsace'' (Alsacian wine fair). When Air Alsace existed, its head office was on the grounds of Colmar Airport.

Parks and recreation

By 1991 ''

Lycée Seijo The was a Japanese boarding high school in Kientzheim (now a part of Kaysersberg-Vignoble), Haut-Rhin, in the Alsace region of France, near Colmar.Kientzheim Kientzheim (; ; Alsatian: ''Kientza'') is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Kaysersberg Vignoble. Population Education Previously the local elementar ...

, had established a Japanese cultural center. It housed books and printed materials in Japan and hosted lectures and film screenings.Iwasaki, Toshio. "Japanese Schools Take Root Overseas." '' Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry''.

Japan Economic Foundation The Japan Economic Foundation (JEF, 国際経済交流財団 ''Kokusai Keizai Kōryū Zaidan'') is an organization which describes itself as promoting economic and technological exchanges between Japan and other countries.

(JEF, ''Kokusai Keizai Kōryū Zaidan''), No. 5, 1991. Contributed to

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

by the JEF. p. 25. "Seijo Gakuen has established a cultural center in the nearby city of Colmar which is used to hold lectures introducing aspects of Japan, to show movies, and to keep books and printed materials oii Japan."

Notable people

Armand Joseph Bruat, amiral de France (1796-1855)

* Caspar Isenmann (1410? – 1484?), painter * Martin Schongauer (1450–1491), painter and engraver * Georg Wickram (1502–1562), poet and novelist * Jean-François Rewbell (1747–1807), diplomat and revolutionist * Jean Rapp (1771–1821), lieutenant general * Conrad Berg (1785–1852), composer * Charles Xavier Thomas (1785–1870), inventor * Marie Bigot (1786–1820), musician, pianist and composer, friend of Haydn and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Armand Joseph Bruat Armand Joseph Bruat (Colmar, 26 May 1796 – '' Montebello'', off Toulon, 19 November 1855) was a French admiral. Biography Bruat joined the French Navy in 1811, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. His early career included far-ranging sea ...

(1796–1855), admiral *

Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès Baron Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès (born Georges-Charles d'Anthès; 5 February 1812 – 2 November 1895) was a French military officer and politician. Despite his later career as a senator under the Second French Empire, D'Anthès ...

(1812–1895), politician, killer of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

in a duel * Auguste Nefftzer (1820–1876), journalist * Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), sculptor, created ''Liberty Enlightening the World'' (the

) *

Camille Sée Camille Sée (10 March 1847 – 20 January 1919) was a French politician who was born in Colmar. As the pioneer of the 1880 French law which established Lycées for girls, he also created the École normale supérieure in Sèvres in 1881. He w ...

, (1847–1919), politician *

Jean-Baptiste Lemire Jean-Baptiste Lemire (8 June 1867 – 2 March 1945) was a French composer. Biography Lemire was born in Colmar, Haut-Rhin. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste (1844–1909), a mason, and Anne-Marie Sarter (1848–1924), a dressmaker. In 1871, France ...

(1867–1945), composer *

Jean-Jacques Waltz Jean-Jacques Waltz (23 February 1873, Colmar – 10 June 1951), also known as "''Oncle Hansi''", or simply "Hansi" ("little John") was a French artist of Alsatian origin. He was a staunch pro-French activist, and is famous for his quaint drawings, ...

(1873–1951), drawer and caricaturist * Ernst Stadler (1883–1914), Alsatian poet * Paul Wormser (1905–1944), Olympic epee fencer *

Hans Loewald Hans Loewald (1906–1993) was a German-American psychoanalyst and theorist. While apparently a traditional Freudian, Loewald in his thinking is both elegant and quietly revisionist - a radical conservatist. Background and education Loewald was ...

(1906–1993), psychoanalyst and theorist * Jean-Pierre Muller (1924–2008), Olympic epee fencer * Bernard Schmitt (economist) (1929–2014), economist and founder of the "Quantum Economics" * Guy Roux (born 1938), football coach * Pierre Moerlen (1952–2005), musician, drummer and composer * Pierre Hermé (born 1961), confectioner, entrepreneur and pastry chef * Thomas Bloch (born 1962), musician * Éric Straumann (born 1964), politician * Pascal Elbé (born 1967), actor, director and screenwriter * Marc Keller (born 1968), football player * Cendrine Wolf (born 1969), children's author * Pascal Johansen (born 1979), football player * Amaury Bischoff (born 1987), football player * Fabien Schmidt (born 1989), professional cyclist *

Ryad Boudebouz Ryad Boudebouz ( ar, رياض بودبوز; born 19 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays for Saudi First Division League club Al-Ahli. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a right winger. A former France youth i ...

(born 1990), Algerian-French footballer

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Colmar is twinned with: * Schongau, Bavaria, Germany (1962) * Lucca, Italy (1962) *

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

, United States (1986) * Győr,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

(1993) * Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (1962) *

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway Na ...

, England, United Kingdom (1978) *

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074. In the Habsburg Empire's Kingdom ...

, Austria (1983)

Replicas of historical buildings in Malaysia

Bukit Tinggi Resort Colmar Tropicale which is situated in Bentong district, State of

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

is a resort-theme historical village inspires from the original Colmar commune in France. Colmar Tropicale located 60 km north-east of

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. North of it, a rebuild of

Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

is in the Berjaya Hills, hosting an organic resort hotel.

In popular culture

Colmar's cityscape (and that of neighbouring

Riquewihr Riquewihr (; Alsatian: ; german: Reichenweier ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. A popular tourist attraction for its historical architecture, Riquewihr is also known for the Riesling and other win ...

) served as inspiration for the design of the Japanese animated film ''

Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...

''. Scenes in the anime '' Is the Order a Rabbit?'' are also based on this location.

References

External links

Official website of the city of Colmar

Wine domain of the city of Colmar

Tourist office of Colmar

Colmar Music Festival
{{Authority control Communes of Haut-Rhin Décapole Free imperial cities Populated places established in the 9th century Prefectures in France