Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maison des Têtes, listed as a historic monument in 1898, is a Renaissance architectural gem located at 19 rue des Têtes in Colmar. Built in 1609 for Anton Burger, a merchant and future Stattmeister (maire) of the city, it stands out for its facade decorated with 106 grotesque mascarons, bearing its name. Burger's coat of arms and his wife's coat of arms, Anne Ortlieb, incorporated symbolic elements related to their families.

Anton Burger, born in 1579, demolished the paternal house to build this emblematic building. He was an influential member of the Merchant Corporation and a municipal councillor in 1612, becoming Stattmeister in 1626. The Counter-Reform pushed him into exile in Basel in 1698, when his heirs sold the house to Baudoin De Launay. The building then changed hands several times, including a war treasurer and an infantry captain.

Over the centuries, Maison des Têtes will house a wine market, a restaurant (as early as 1898), and a hotel after a major restoration in the 21st century. In 1902, Auguste Bartholdi added a bronze barrel on the gable. Since 2015, it has hosted a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant, perpetuating its status as an iconic Colmar venue.

Architecturally, the house combines asymmetry and decorative richness: irregular windows, openworked oriel with guardrails, and chanted gable. Its Renaissance style and sculpted details, such as mascarons and coat of arms, reflect the prestige of its sponsor and Alsatian craftsmanship of the time.

The façade, classified since 1898, is now owned by an association. Its history combines heritage, social life and modern adaptations, while preserving the traces of its past uses, such as Bartholdi's sculpture bearing witness to his wine past.

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