Walls demolished so towns could grow
In the nineteenth century walls became an obstacle, not a protection.
A medieval gate tower in Colmar, known in German as the Obertor, the upper gate, and what remains of the town's old walls. What deserves attention is its rarity. Colmar is among the prettiest towns in Alsace and among the best preserved for its timber-framed buildings, but its walls were mostly demolished in the nineteenth century — as happened in hundreds of European towns once walls became an obstacle to expansion rather than a protection. The surviving gate marks the old town limit. Colmar itself explains Alsace's double history. The region changed hands between France and Germany four times between 1871 and 1945, and so the town carries two names for almost everything: the gate is French by name and German in its stone. The Alsatian dialect is itself Germanic, and its signage stands beside the French. Practical points: it is seen from outside, free, and not climbed. The visit is minutes on a walk through the old town, and it lies slightly off the usual visitor route around Little Venice.
In the nineteenth century walls became an obstacle, not a protection.
French by name, German in its stone — that is Alsace's history.
Alsace changed hands between France and Germany between 1871 and 1945.
Colmar, Alsace
That it survived. Many Alsatian towns were destroyed in the two wars, and Colmar came through with relatively limited damage, so its coloured timber-framed houses of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries still stand. The Little Venice quarter on the canal is the best known. The Unterlinden Museum holds the Isenheim Altarpiece, among the most important artworks in Europe. And Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, was born here and has a museum in the town.
The two famous seasons are summer and the Christmas markets in December, and both are very crowded — Colmar has among the best-known Christmas markets in Europe and its narrow streets fill completely. May, June and September are far quieter with good weather. If you come in December, book accommodation very early and expect high prices.
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