Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and
commune in the
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
department and
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of north-eastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
and
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
), it is the seat of the
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of the Haut-Rhin department and of the
subprefecture
A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province.
Albania
There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...
of the
Colmar-Ribeauvillé arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...
.
The city is renowned for its well-preserved
old town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which is the
Unterlinden Museum, which houses the ''
Isenheim Altarpiece''.
Colmar is located on the
Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the capital of Alsatian wine (').
History
Colmar was first mentioned by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
in his chronicle about Saxon wars.
This was the location where the
Carolingian Emperor
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...
held a
diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of a
free imperial city 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, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
in 1575, long after the northern neighbours of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
and
Sélestat.
During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, 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
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
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 Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic killed many in the city.
With the rest of Alsace, Colmar was ceded to the newly formed
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
in 1871 as a result of the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
and incorporated into the
Alsace-Lorraine province. It returned to France after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
according to the 1919
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
, was annexed by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
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 ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...
(since 1995), and has had only three mayors during that time.
The
Colmar Treasure, a hoard of precious objects hidden by Jews during the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
, was discovered here in 1863.
Geography
Colmar is south-southwest of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, at 48.08°N, 7.36°E, on the River Lauch, a tributary of the
Ill. It is located immediately to the east of the
Vosges and connected to the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
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 ...
.
In 2017 the city had a population of 69,105,
and the
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
of Colmar had a population of 199,234 in 2018. Colmar is the centre of the
arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé, which had 211,312 inhabitants in 2017.
Climate
Colmar has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfb'') but it is significantly modified by the city's location far inland, 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 atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...
and is one of the driest cities in France, with an annual precipitation of just , making it ideal for
Alsace wine. It is considered the capital of the Alsatian wine region.
The dryness results from the town's location next to mountains, which forces clouds arriving from the west to rise and much of their moisture to condense and fall over the higher ground, leaving the air warmed and dried by the time it reaches Colmar.
The city therefore has more of a continental climate and winter and summer temperatures can sometimes be the lowest or highest in France.
Population
Main sights
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 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 ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
" (').
Architectural landmarks

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
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
,
timber framing
Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
).
Secular buildings
*Maison Adolph – 14th century (German
Gothic)
*
Koïfhus, also known as Ancienne Douane – 1480 (German Gothic)
*Maison Pfister – 1537 (German
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
).
*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 Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
)
*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 aesthe ...
)
*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, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
)
*
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
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
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 ''
Madonna of the Rose Bower'' as well as 14th century stained glass windows and baroque choir stalls. The adjacent
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
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
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
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''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
(''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.
* – 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 ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
, it also houses a collection of ancient
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian 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,
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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
s and
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
s during the
French Revolution 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 or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
, in Germany and on the other side of the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
, by the
Freiburg–Colmar international railway. However the railway bridge over the Rhine between
Breisach 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
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
. 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
The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan.
History
The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...
(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
Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational corporation, multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany.
Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divi ...
(French seat),
Leitz (French seat), Capsugel France (A division of
Pfizer).
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'', a Japanese boarding high school in
Kientzheim, 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 (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 that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
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

*
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. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
*
Armand Joseph Bruat (1796–1855), admiral
*
Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès (1812–1895), politician, killer of
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...
in a duel
*
Auguste Nefftzer (1820–1876), journalist
*
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), sculptor. He created ''Liberty Enlightening the World'' (the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
).
*
Camille Sée (1847–1919), politician
*
Jean-Baptiste Lemire (1867–1945), composer
*
Jean-Jacques Waltz (1873–1951), drawer and caricaturist
*
Ernst Stadler (1883–1914), Alsatian poet
*
Paul Wormser (1905–1944), Olympic épée fencer
*
Hans Loewald (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"
*
Christian de Chergé (1937-1996),
Trappist
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...
monk and one of the
Tibhirine monks
*
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
*
Nicolas Armindo (born 1982), racing driver
*
Amaury Bischoff (born 1987), football player
*
Fabien Schmidt (born 1989), professional cyclist
*
Ryad Boudebouz (born 1990), Algerian-French footballer
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Colmar is
twinned with:
*
Schongau, Bavaria, Germany (1962)
*
Lucca
Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
, Italy (1962)
*
Princeton, United States (1986)
*
Győr
Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
(1993)
*
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...
, Belgium (1962)
*
Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It Historic counties of England, was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Hors ...
, England, United Kingdom (1978)
*
Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt (; ; ; or ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Austria, Austrian state of Burgenland. With a population of 15,074 (as of 2023), it is the smallest state capital and the 38th-largest city in Austria overall. It lies at the foot o ...
, Austria (1983)
Replicas of historical buildings in Malaysia
Bukit Tinggi Resort Colmar Tropicale which is situated in
Bentong district, State of
Pahang
{{Infobox political division
, name = Pahang
, official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur
, native_name =
, settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State
, image_skyline =
, imagesize ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
is a resort-theme historical village inspires from the original Colmar commune in France. Colmar Tropicale located 60 km north-east of
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
.
North of it, a rebuild of
Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg is in the Berjaya Hills, hosting an organic resort hotel.
In popular culture
Colmar's cityscape (and that of neighbouring
Riquewihr) served as inspiration for the design of the Japanese animated film ''
Howl's Moving Castle''. Scenes in the anime ''
Is the Order a Rabbit?'' are also based on this location.
Colmar appears as a map in ''
Day of Defeat: Source'' set in 1944. Germans and American soldiers try to blow up each other's objectives.
See also
*
List of mayors of Colmar
References
External links
Official website of the city of ColmarWine domain of the city of ColmarTourist office of ColmarColmar Music Festival
{{Authority control
Communes of Haut-Rhin
Décapole
Free imperial cities
Populated places established in the 9th century
Prefectures in France