ClasséMilitary building · protected 1958Ancien corps de garde ou ancienne maison de policePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Eric Gaba ( Sting - fr:Sting ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Statue de l'amiral Bruat · Photo: Ralf Roletschek · CC BY-SA 3.058historic monuments
History of Colmar · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 1966, and 58 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 58 historic monuments in Colmar: 18 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 39 inscrit (the second level). 1 has no protection level on the list. That’s 8.7 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 83% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 13th century. We have photos of 50 of them.
Monuments historiques
58
8.7 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
18
the highest protection
Inscrit
39
the second level
Oldest part
13th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8.8%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Colmar in 50 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne douane, dit aussi KoïfhusClassé
Ancien couvent des UnterlindenClassé
Couvent Sainte-CatherineClassé
Ancien corps de garde ou ancienne maison de policeClassé
Ancien palais du Conseil Souverain d'AlsaceClassé+45See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Protected area
Colmar has had a protected historic area since 1966
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR44-42 | Secteur sauvegardé January 7, 1966 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) February 13, 2002 |
A site patrimonial remarquable protects a whole area rather than one building: inside it, building work follows the area’s own plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Map
Where Colmar’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritLevel not givenWithin 400 m of Maison
17 of 18classé monuments stand within 400 m of Maison, with 40 of the town’s 58 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
58 monuments by protection
18 Classé39 Inscrit1 Level not given
Classé is the higher protection: any work on the building needs the State’s permission. Work on an inscrit building must be declared to the State in advance. Around both, building work in sight of the monument (usually within 500 m) needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
Points as the ministry gives them: a monument spread over several plots has one point. 5 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
18 classé monuments in Colmar
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 10 of the 18 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséConvent · protected 1852Ancien couvent des UnterlindenPhoto: stefano Merli from legnano, italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1840Ancienne collégiale Saint-MartinPhoto: Eric Gaba ( Sting - fr:Sting ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséConvent · protected 1948Couvent des DominicainsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: BRUNNER Emmanuel ( manu25 ) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséConvent · protected 1903Couvent Sainte-CatherinePhoto: Poudou99 / aka Kootshisme · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1948Église protestante Saint-Matthieu, ancienne église des FranciscainsPhoto: M.Strīķis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséPublic building · protected 1930Ancienne douane, dit aussi KoïfhusPart of the building is protectedPhoto: stefano Merli from legnano, italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséPublic building · protected 1930Ancien palais du Conseil Souverain d'AlsacePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Manecke · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1927Maison PfisterPhoto: Eric Gaba ( Sting - fr:Sting ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1898Maison des TêtesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: francois from Strasbourg, france · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1903Maison Saint-JeanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Kent Wang from Barcelona, Spain · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséSchool · protected 1920Lycée BartholdiPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 1946Statue de l'amiral BruatPhoto: Ralf Roletschek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 1945Statue du Général RappPhoto: Poudou99 / aka Kootshisme · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1989Maison, 12, anciennement Juifs (rue des) 12 rue Berthe-MollyPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Patrick Nouhailler's… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1949Maison, 9 rue des MarchandsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: joergens.mi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1928Maison, 4 rue des BoulangersPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Gzen92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
40 inscrit monuments in Colmar
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared. 1 of them has no protection level on the list.
All 40, A to Z
Ancien grenier médiévalAncien hôpitalAncien hôtel de ReisetAncien poêle des LaboureursAncienne chancellerieBâtiments, 7 place de la CathédraleChâteau d'eauCimetière, rue du LadhofCour d'AppelCour d'AssisesEnceintes du Moyen AgeGare centrale des voyageursHôtel de villeImmeuble dite ancienne maison GretscherImmeuble, 7 rue BartholdiImmeuble, actuellement service de l'enfance inadaptéeLoge maçonnique de ColmarMaison AdolpheMaison dite Maison KernMaison dite Maison SchongauerMaison dite Villa BoeschlinMaison FleischhauerMaison, 11 Grand'RueMaison, 11 rue PfeffelMaison, 13 Grand'RueMaison, 15 Grand'RueMaison, 15 rue ChauffeurMaison, 15, anciennement Juifs (rue des) 15 rue Berthe-MollyMaison, 17 Grand'RueMaison, 19 Grand'RueMaison, 23, 25 rue des MarchandsMaison, 36 Grand'RueMaison, 4 rue Saint-MartinMaison, 48 rue des MarchandsMaison, 6 rue MorelMaison, 8 rue des AugustinsMaison, 9 rue de TurenneMusée BartholdiPuits datant de 1584Synagogue, rue de la Cigogne
19 more, named only by their kind
19 more are named in the list only by their kind: 15 houses (maisons), 2 buildings (immeubles) and 2 others, most from the 17th century. The 19 with an address are in the list above, by it.
16th c.5
17th c.11
18th c.1
19th c.1
20th c.1
What’s protected
Most of Colmar’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes33
Public & civic11
Religious buildings6
Tombs & cemeteries3
Bridges & engineering2
Military & fortified1
Houses & homes: 33 of 58 monuments (57%). 6 are religious buildings, 5 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Colmar’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.11
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution36
19th century 1801–19006
20th century and later since 19015
11 of 58 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancien corps de garde ou ancienne maison de police (13th & 16th c.).
When protected
22 of Colmar’s monuments were protected in 1929
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1929 · 22
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne collégiale Saint-Martin. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 22 were protected in 1929 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
68 people born in Colmar before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Caspar Isenmann
Théophile Conrad Pfeffel
Jean-François Reubell
Jean Rapp
Marie Antoine de Reiset
Jean-Jacques Reubell
Louis Marie Baptiste Atthalin
Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar
Armand Joseph Bruat
Frédéric Kuhlmann
Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès
Auguste Nefftzer
Jules Costé
Auguste Bartholdi
Marie-Antoinette Lix
Camille Sée
Victor Henry
Heinrich Waderé
Henri de Peyerimhoff de Fontenelle
Victor Huen
1500165018001950
CI
Caspar Isenmann1410–1472 · German painter
TC
Théophile Conrad Pfeffel1736–1809 · German writer
JF
Jean-François Reubell1747–1807 · French lawyer and diplomat
JR
Jean Rapp1771–1821 · French general
MA
Marie Antoine de Reiset1775–1836 · French general
JJ
Jean-Jacques Reubell1777–1847 · French general
LM
Louis Marie Baptiste Atthalin1784–1856 · French Army officer and artist
CX
Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar1785–1870 · French computer pioneer
Everyone born in Colmar Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Colmar has the 2nd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 58,000 to 77,400 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Colmar
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colmar | 66,970 | 58 | 18 | Yes |
| Horbourg-Wihr | 6,199 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Ingersheim | 4,774 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Wintzenheim | 8,059 | 7 | 2 | — |
| Turckheim | 4,139 | 18 | 3 | — |
| Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine | 3,004 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Kaysersberg Vignoble | 4,383 | 33 | 12 | — |
In brief
Colmar in brief
Colmar’s old center has been a secteur sauvegardé, the strictest protection France gives a historic town, since 1966. All told, the list holds 58 historic monuments, 18 of them classé, including Statue de l'amiral Bruat. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 83% of compared French towns. Musée Bartholdi is one of the Maisons des Illustres, the homes of people who left their mark on France.
Only one of the 41 towns nearest its size has more historic monuments. Of the whole list, 57% are houses and homes. Of the 58 with a date, 36 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: 8.8% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Monuments historiques. France protects buildings at two levels. Classé, the higher (about a third of the list), means any work needs the State’s permission; inscrit means work must be declared to the State in advance. The Culture ministry’s Mérimée base lists every protected building, and this page counts them.
- Partly protected. Many entries protect part of a building only (its façades and roofs, a staircase, a painted room). Each counts as one monument, like a fully protected one.
- Where a monument is counted. In the commune named on its protection, moved to today’s commune where communes have since merged. A monument listed for several communes counts in each.
- Sites patrimoniaux remarquables. Since 2016 France’s protected historic areas (the former secteurs sauvegardés, ZPPAUP and AVAP) share one name. Inside one, building work follows the area’s plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
- What isn’t here. Protected objects (furniture, organs, paintings), old buildings with no protection, UNESCO World Heritage listings and labels such as “Plus Beaux Villages de France” aren’t on this list, so this page doesn’t count them.
- No History Grade yet. Everything on this page is described, not graded: France’s History Grade isn’t built yet.
Questions about the history of Colmar
How many historic monuments are there in Colmar?
The Culture ministry lists 58 historic monuments in Colmar: 18 classé and 39 inscrit.
Which monuments in Colmar are classé?
18, among them Ancien corps de garde ou ancienne maison de police, Ancien couvent des Unterlinden, Ancienne collégiale Saint-Martin, Couvent des Dominicains, Couvent Sainte-Catherine and Église protestante Saint-Matthieu, ancienne église des Franciscains.
How old are the monuments of Colmar?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 13th century.
Is Colmar a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Colmar has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1966.
When were monuments in Colmar first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Colmar?
8.8% of its main homes were built before 1919 (median compared French town: 7.4%).
France has no History Grade yet: this page describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sources: Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée base on POP (immeubles protégés au titre des monuments historiques), October 2026 · Ministère de la Culture, sites patrimoniaux remarquables, October 2026 · INSEE, census 2023 (main homes by build period) · Wikidata and Wikipedia (people born here) · Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata (photos of the monuments, each with its own credit and license) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 8, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.