Colmar, France – The Start of our
Christmas Markets Tour
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| Church in Breisach |
We
left Basel at 6 AM on Monday, 25 November, and sailed to Breisach, Germany where
we docked about noon. Breisach, known as
the “Gateway to the Black Forest,” is known for St. Stephen Cathedral, which sits
on top of a hill, overlooking the city and the Rhine River. It is the first thing you see as you near the
dock. The city also has a lot of swans that
live around this area and many came out to greet our boat. Unfortunately, Breisach had no Christmas
Market, so it was only a place for the ship to dock, not a city to be toured.
After
lunch on board, we started our Christmas Market tour with a visit to Colmar,
France – a beautiful medieval city located in the Alsace region of France. We were supposed to visit Kaysersberg and
Riquewihr, also both in the Alsace, but most of their shops were closed on
Monday and they did not have a Christmas Market, so our team of Program
Directors made the decision to visit Colmar instead –we all agreed it was a great
decision!
Colmar
is said to be the most Alsatian city in the Alsace. Nestled in the middle of the Alsace wine
region, it is a blend of both German and French architecture and famous for its
half-timbered homes. It considers itself
the capital of Alsatian. Many of the
homes were built during the 1500’s.
There was an earlier town here with homes built in the 1300s. But many of these homes were destroyed by a
fire, and what were not destroyed, were demolished to make way for the “new”
city built in the 16th century.
There are several beautiful churches, including the Church of St. Martin,
once the largest church in this region, but now second to the Cathedral of
Strasbourg. Although many refer to it as
a cathedral, it is not as it is a protestant church. The other church building was once a convent,
but has now been turned into a museum.
The roofs of these buildings, plus the custom house roof, are remnants
of the Hapsburg Empire. They all have
green tiles in the design of a diamond that symbolized the Hapsburg rulers.
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| House of Many Faces - German Architecture |
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House of Many Faces contains over 100 face
sculptures |
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| Have-timbered Homes |
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| Custom House with the Hapsburg Diamond |
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| St. Martin's Church |
Like
most towns in this region, it has see-sawed back and forth between France and
Germany. It was first mentioned by
Charlemagne in his diary about the Saxon Wars.
In 1226 it was granted status as a “free imperial city” by Emperor
Frederick II. During the Thirty Years’
War (circa 1632-1679) it was captured by the Swedish army but finally conquered
By King Louis XIV of France in 1673. In
1679, it was officially ceded to France by the Treaties of Nijmegen. However, in 1871, the newly formed German
Empire annexed Colmar and the rest of Alsace as a result of the Franco-Prussian
War. Following WWI the Treaty of
Versailles gave the region back to France, but it was annexed again by Nazi
Germany in 1940. After the battle of the
Colmar Pocket in 1945, it returned again to French control.
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| Pfister House |
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| Frederic Bartholdi's Home |
One
of the most famous homes in Colmar is the Pfister House which dates back to the
16th century. It has an
ornate oriel (a large bay window that runs the entire height of the house),
beautifully painted murals on the outside walls, and a long wooden galley.
The
town is the birthplace of Frederic Bartholdi, the sculptor that designed our
Statue of Liberty. Throughout the town
and in the courtyard of his home are other sculptures done by him.
Today the
town is all decked out for Christmas with many merchants trying to outdo their
competitors with their decorations. All
throughout the town, and especially in the square surrounding the Church of
Martin Luther, are the many little buildings that make up the Christmas
Market. You can find all things
Christmas, to include outerwear, hats and gloves, ornaments, gingerbread,
chocolate and other candies, and of course Gluewein, a spiced wine drink of
either red or white wine that is served in unique plastic or ceramic mugs that
are designed by each town.
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| Store Decorated for Christmas |
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| Christmas Market |
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| Christmas Market |
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| Shop Decorated for Christmas |
Although the day was cloudy, the rain cooperated by holding off until we were back on the buses. We had a wonderful town of the old part of town and then were free to wander through the six little islands of Christmas Markets that have been built throughout the center of town. It was a wonderful start to our Christmas Market cruise and it really put us all in the spirit of Christmas.
Back on the ship we had the Captain’s Welcome briefing and champagne, followed by a delicious 7-course dinner highlighted by roast veal and crème brulee.
