Saint-Martin Collegiate Church

Built between 1235 and 1365, the Saint-Martin Collegiate Church is a gem of Gothic architecture in Alsace. Its south tower, severely damaged by a fire in 1572, lost its framework and crown. Three years later, it was topped with an original bulbous lantern, which today gives the building its iconic silhouette.

Several restoration campaigns have marked its history. The latest, completed in 1982, uncovered the foundations of a church dating back to the year 1000, as well as traces of successive enlargements in the 11th and 12th centuries.

For the people of Colmar, the Saint-Martin Collegiate Church is often considered their cathedral, directly referencing the German term “Münster.” However, its status as a cathedral was brief: it was only one from 1790 to 1801, during the period of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. The two constitutional bishops who succeeded each other there failed to establish themselves, and the diocese remained largely loyal to Rome.