Eglise Saint-Martin (St. Martin Church), Colmar (must see)

In 1972, archeologists discovered the remains of two churches under the Saint Martin Church (Eglise Saint-Martin) in Colmar. The oldest was built in the Carolingian style and dated from about 1000 AD. The foundation of the second was a Romanesque-style church. The present Saint Martin Church was a collegiate church built between 1234 and 1365.

The total interior length of the Saint Martin Church is 256 feet, while the height is 66 feet. The transept measures 112 feet in width. The steeple is 233 feet high.

The collegiate church, long defunct, was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. The tall, square bell tower, topped with a "helmet" covering, was added in 1572 after a fire. Several undersized portals surround the church, and some have been bricked up. The largest have richly decorated tympanums. The roof is of colored tile.

The facade is supported by massive polygonal columns that give the front of the building a stolid effect, contrasting with the aspiring look of the high apse windows. The interior is spacious, featuring a Baroque organ case from 1755 and a traditional Alsatian ambulatory.

The chapels around the choir have Medieval altars and statues. Among the Gothic stained glass windows in the nave is one with a rare 13th-century depiction of a beardless Christ. In 1482, the artist Caspar Isenmann was commissioned to paint panels showing the Life of Jesus Christ. Seven surviving oil-on-wood works are exhibited in the Unterlinden Museum.

The people of Colmar consider the church to be their cathedral. However, it was a cathedral for only ten years in its history. That status was in effect only from the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1790 to the Concordat of 1801. The church is more of a collegiate-type church dedicated to Saint Martin.