St Martin’s Church, Colmar

St Martin's Church, Colmar tickets: which one to buy

Saint Martin's Church, often called the Colmar Collegiate Church or cathedral, stands on a square in the heart of Colmar's old town, in Alsace, France, and entry is free. It is the largest church in Colmar and dominates the old town with its tall tower and colourful tiled roof. Colmar is one of the most picturesque towns in Alsace, with half-timbered houses, canals in the Little Venice quarter and the Unterlinden Museum, which houses the Isenheim Altarpiece.

Walking tours of Colmar combine the church with the Maison des Tetes, the Koifhus, the Maison Pfister and Little Venice. Colmar is on the Alsace Wine Route and is often visited with Riquewihr, Eguisheim and Kaysersberg. The town is about half an hour from Strasbourg by train. The church is active, and visiting pauses during services. Tourist trains leave from near the church and give a tour of the old town and Little Venice.

Visiting St Martin's Church, Colmar: what to see

The church was built between 1235 and 1365 in the Gothic style, in red and yellow sandstone, on the site of an earlier Romanesque church, and it was a collegiate church, served by canons. It is sometimes called the cathedral, although it was a cathedral only briefly, during the French Revolution. The tower's copper roof, with its lantern, was added after a fire in 1572. The roof of the church is covered with glazed tiles in coloured patterns. The Saint Nicholas portal, on the south side, is decorated with carved figures, including a portrait said to be of the master builder, Humbret. Inside, the church has a Gothic choir with stained glass windows from the fourteenth century, a baroque organ case, and chapels.

The church once held Martin Schongauer's painting the Virgin of the Rose Bush, now displayed in the Dominican Church nearby. The choir's stained glass windows show scenes from the life of Christ and saints, in rich medieval colours. A baroque organ case, carved and gilded, dominates the west end. The church holds a Gothic sculpture of the Virgin and Child. The chapels around the choir contain altarpieces and tombs of canons. The exterior carvings include gargoyles and grotesque figures. The roof tiles form diamond patterns in green, red and yellow. A small museum of religious art in the church displays treasures. The tower's lantern is a landmark visible from the surrounding vineyards.

St Martin's Church, Colmar opening hours and the best time to go

The church is open daily, with visits restricted during masses. Colmar is very busy in summer and during the Christmas markets from late November to December, when the old town is decorated and lit, and crowded with visitors. Spring and autumn are pleasant, with the wine harvest in autumn. The Colmar International Festival in July brings classical music concerts. Mornings are the quietest time. Allow about twenty minutes for the church, and combine it with the Dominican Church and the Unterlinden Museum. The Unterlinden Museum, a few minutes' walk, displays Matthias Grunewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, one of the great works of German Renaissance art.