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Origin and history

The Collège Saint-Martin de Colmar, often mistakenly called "Cathedral", is the largest religious building in Colmar and one of the most imposing Gothic churches in the Upper Rhine. Second in size in Alsace after Strasbourg Cathedral, it is located in the heart of the city, on the Cathedral Square. Its history dates back to before the year millet, with a first chapel dedicated to St Martin, destroyed by a fire in 1106 and replaced by a Romanesque basilica. In 1234, Pope Gregory IX made it a collegiate under the authority of Munster Abbey, marking the beginning of its Gothic reconstruction.

The construction ran from 1234 to around 1365, led by masters such as Humbert and Guillaume de Marbourg, the latter designing the plans of the choir and the walk. The South Tower, damaged by a fire in 1572, was capped in 1575 by a bulb-shaped lantern, a distinctive symbol of the building. At the time of the Revolution, the college briefly became a constitutional cathedral before becoming a parish church again in 1802. Ranked a historic monument in 1840, it houses treasures such as medieval stained glass windows, 14th century carved stalls, and two organs, including a baroque buffet by Silbermann (1755).

Archaeological excavations, especially those of 1972 and 2022, revealed earlier remains (XI century) and confirmed the presence of an urban cemetery around the church, surrounded by a wall of enclosures erected in 1212 by the bourgeois of Colmar. This wall, the first of its kind discovered in Alsace, bears witness to the social and religious importance of the site. The collegiate building, built in Vosges sandstone, is distinguished by its five-span nave, its richly carved portals (like the tympanum of the Magi Adoration), and its colourful "beaver tail" tiles.

The interior furniture, although stripped after revolutionary degradation, preserves remarkable medieval elements, such as the 13th century Virgin Mary or the 46 stalls of the choir, illustrating biblical and ecclesiastical figures. The bells, some of which were cast in the 19th century, formed one of the most harmonious bells in France. Among the previously sheltered works, the Virgin with rose bush (1473) by Martin Schongauer, stolen in 1972 and now preserved in the Dominican Church, remains emblematic.

The building, owned by the commune, embodies almost eight centuries of Alsatian history, mixing religious, architectural and urban influences. Its early ranking (1840) and restoration campaigns underline its central role in the regional heritage, between Gothic heritage and later adaptations, such as the choir organ installed in 1975 or the modern bells added to the twentieth century.

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