Colmar and his region

The Riquewihr church © Sarah Woelflin

Aubure - Hunawihr - Riquewihr - Kaysersberg - Colmar - Sélestat - Baldenheim

The history of the region of Colmar was closely related to the successive religious upheavals up to the beginning of the 19th century. From the old seigneury in Riquewihr to the remarkable wall paintings in Baldenheim, this tour will show you some of the region's most beautiful spots.
 

THE AUBURE CHURCH

In 1827, Reformed and Lutheran Protestants joined together to create a community and build a church that was finished the following year. This building, attached to the side of a house that dates from 1731, looks like a farm from the Vosges with a steeple.
 

THE CHURCH AND THE SCHWEITZER MUSEUM IN KAYSERSBERG

At Number 126 rue du Général de Gaulle you will find the Protestant Church and the Albert Schweitzer Museum. A theologian, a musician, a philosopher, a doctor, and Nobel peace prize-winner in 1952, Albert Schweitzer was born in 1875 in Kaysersberg where his father was a pastor. The Protestant church and the vicarage, the doctor's birthplace, adjoin a museum dedicated to his work in the Gabon hospital from 1913 onwards.

THE HUNAWIHR SIMULTANEOUS CHURCH

Within fortified walls, on a headland surrounded by vineyards, the simultaneous St. Jacques le Majeur Church is located in a picturesque landscape. It was built between the 14th and 16th century and includes 15th century frescos depicting scenes of the St. Hune and St. Deodat legends. At the edge of the nave, a gallery holds an organ dating from 1765, altered in the 19th century by Callinet. Catholics and Protestants have shared the church since 1687.
 

THE RIQUEWIHR CHURCH

In the rue des Trois-Eglises, the Protestant church St. Marguerite was finished in 1846, built on the site of a former church dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. It has a well-known Stiehr- Mockers organ, whose façade is designated as a French Historical Monument.
 

THE SAINT-MATTHIEU CHURCH IN COLMAR

This former Franciscan church, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, is characterized by a typical basilica architecture. It is distinguished by its stained glass window made by Pierre d’Andlau in 1480, as well as a jube that separates the chancel from the nave. After it had been made available to the Protestants in 1575, the church was given a bell with a cockerel. In 1715, the chancel was given to the Catholics for their services, by order of the king of France and the arch between the nave and the chancel was bricked up. In 1937, the chancel was given back to the Protestants, but the wall of separation was only destroyed in 1987, 50 years later.
 

THE SÉLESTAT CHURCH

1 rue Oberlé
After the Reformation, many Protestants fled from Selestat and only came back during the 19th century. They were given the former Franciscan church (« l'église des Récollets »), dating from 1280. The present church, with a neo-Gothic front, still has the relics of the chancel and sacristy. On its side, you may note an apse with five sides with a remarkable keystone. Its steeple has a flamboyant spire with 140 sculpted elements. At the entrance, three busts of the Rathsamhausen knights were added in 2001. Inside, you'll find a medallion of Martin Bucer, a Reformer, who was born in this town.
 

THE BALDENHEIM CHURCH

Built at the end of the 11th century, this Protestant church has a square-shaped primitive chancel, separated by an arch from a rectangular, Romanesque-style nave. Its fortified steeple dates from the 14th century. After the Reformation, its walls and vault were whitewashed, and plainly decorated with yellow and blue stars. The church was designated as a French historical monument in 1970, however, the church is best known for its 14th and 15th century frescos, discovered in 1992.