Old Town, Colmar

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"This is the High Court of Justice and Parliament of Alsace, the sovereign council designed to mark the royal wish to assume possession of the province, established in Colmar in 1698, in the former municipal house known as the "Wagkeller". This building, which was completely remodelled between 1764 and 1771 under the supervision of the architects Chassain and de Rungs, after the dissolution of the parliaments under the Revolution, became the seat of the Appeal Court in the 19th century. It currently houses the District Court."

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"The name of Koifhus, which was locally given to this building, recalls the economic functions of this centre in the control and taxation of imported, exported goods and of goods in transit. The ground floor of the main building, which was completed in 1480, was used as a bonded warehouse for goods and the first floor room was used for meetings of the Décapole deputies, a federation of ten imperial towns in Alsace. The north wing is a 16th century addition, and the lodge on the left was the birthplace of General Rapp in 1771."

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"This imposing building was constructed between 1736 and 1744, on the site of some of the Franciscan convent buildings, which were already used as a hospital from the middle of the 16th century. Freestones originating from the old town fortifications were redeployed for its construction, under the supervision of the abbot Armand-Gaston d'Andlau. The building now houses the University's Institute of Technology."

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"An original Jewish community was present in Colmar at the beginning of the 13th century, with its focus around what is now Rue Berthe Molly (formerly Judengasse). The community was persecuted and subsequently expelled during the 15th century, but was given the opportunity to re-establish itself in Colmar after the time of the French revolution. This synagogue which was built between 1839 and 1842 in the ancient style, is the seat of the Jewish Consistory and of the Chief Rabbinate of the Haut-Rhin."

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"The former corporation of farmers was one of the largest in old Colmar. Its meeting place or "pall" was built in 1626 on the site of a medieval building, and is above all remarkable for its Renaissance door frame. During the first half of the 19th century, the building was used for Jewish services before the construction of the synagogue. It now houses an administrative canteen."

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"Built between 1778 and 1782 as the town residence of the Cistercian abbey of Paris, in the Orbey valley, this vast building became the regional centre of administration during the revolution, before housing the Haut-Rhin Préfecture from 1800 to 1866. In this capacity it received a wide variety of official visits, the Kings Charles X (1828) and Louis-Philippe (1831), then the Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1850). As the Town Hall since 1866, between 1918 and the present day it has been visited by most of the Presidents of the Republic."

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"This Renaissance structure with its remarkable loggia, was built in 1575, from the framework of the Saint Jacques chapel, which sheltered the ossuary of the former cemetary of the collegiate church of Saint Martin. Originally intended to be a town hall, this building then housed the town guard. A nut market was once held under the arcades of the eastern part."

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"Documented since the 14th century, and considered to be one of the oldest residences in Colmar, Maison Adolph owes its name to one of its owners, who added the wonderful Gothic bay windows in the second half of the 19th century. On the north facade, on the second floor, the lattices of the central window are reminiscent of the bays of the collegiate church of Saint Martin, and are probably from the same period."