Thesaurus

Colmar is the capital of the department of Haut-Rhin. It is first mentioned in chronicle of the Saxon wars of Charlemagne (800-814). In 1226 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II accorded it the status of an imperial town, and walls were built surrounding it. Rudolph of Hapsburg granted it civil rights in 1278. Sweden occupied it in 1632 during the Thirty Years War. Louis XIII of France took it under his protection in 1635, and then France gradually annexed it over the years 1648-1678. Germany and France alternately took possession of the town between 1871 and 1945, since when it has been part of France. The town is known for its fountains, churches, and Alsatian Renaissance buildings, and the Musée Unterlinden houses the famous Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald. It is the birthplace of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the creator of the Statue of Liberty.