The Église Saint-Martin ('' St. Martin church'') is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is in the principal Gothic architectural style. Because of its past as a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

, is also known als ''Collégiale Saint-Martin'', and because of its large dimensions, as '' Cathédrale Saint-Martin'', although Colmar had never been the seat of a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

History and description

In 1972, remains were

archaeologically Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

dug out of a first church, built in

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

style around the year 1000. Foundations of a second church built on that spot, in Romanesque style, were found as well. The present building had been constructed between 1234 and 1365 as the church of a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

devoted to the cult of Martin of Tours, and since defunct. The current, conspicuous helmet crowning the bell tower had been added in 1572 in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style after a fire. The church is surrounded by several portals of rather small dimensions, speaking relatively to the volume of the building. Some of these portals are bricked up. The largest portals display richly sculpted tympana. The coloured

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

roof, reminding that of the Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut in Thann, is another striking feature of the church's exterior. The massive pillars that support the façade, an architectural rarity, give the front of the building a somewhat cumbersome aspect that contrasts with the airy look of the high

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

windows. Another noteworthy detail of the building's exterior, testament to the troubled

History of Jews in Alsace The history of the Jews in Alsace is one of the oldest in Europe. It was first attested to in 1165 by Benjamin of Tudela, who wrote about a "large number of learned men" in " Astransbourg"; and it is assumed that it dates back to around the yea ...

, is the presence of two " Judensäue", one in the shape of a

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

, the other as a corner sculpture of a portal. In the spacious interior, whose furniture had suffered bitter losses during the French Revolution, the most remarkable features are the exuberant

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

organ case of 1755, (the mechanism and the pipes themselves, originally built by

Johann Andreas Silbermann Johann Andreas Silbermann, also known as Jean-André Silbermann (26 June 1712, in Strasbourg – 11 February 1783, in Strasbourg) was an 18th-century organ-builder, as were his father Andreas Silbermann and his paternal uncle Gottfried Silberman ...

, were completely replaced in 1979), as well as the

ambulatory The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...

, a unique feature in Alsatian churches. The many chapels that surround the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

display several medieval altars and statues. Of the remaining Gothic

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows in the nave, the most noteworthy is a 13th century head of a beardless Christ, another rare feature.

Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...

's monumental '' Madonna of the Rose Bower'' was painted for the church in 1473 and stood there until 1972, when it was stolen. After its recovery in 1973, it was moved to the neighbouring former Dominican Church, another Gothic, but architecturally very different sanctuary.

The Isenmann altarpiece

In 1462, the municipal painter Caspar Isenmann received a commission to paint a set of panels dedicated to the Life of Jesus Christ. He delivered the paintings (

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

on fir wood) in 1465. In 1720, the altar was dismantled and Isenmann's paintings were dispersed. Seven surviving panels are kept since 1853 in the Unterlinden Museum.

Dimensions

Some figures relating to the building's size:''HB Kunstführer Straßburg - Colmar - Elsaß'', 1986, *Total interior length: 78 meters *Maximal interior height: *Interior width of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

: 34 meters *Height of the steeple: 71 meters

Gallery

File:Martinsmünster Colmar Turm.jpg, Façade and steeple. Note the unusual, massive supporting pillars File:Colmar - Gothic portal of Saint Martin Church.jpg, A side portal. The tympanum is signed by a "Master Humbret". File:Colmar 9016.jpg, Façade portal File:Martinsmünster Colmar Hintere Seitenansicht.jpg, View of

File:Martinsmünster Colmar Chor.jpg, Rear of the church, with

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

nest File:Collégiale Saint-Martin Nave 01.jpg, Inside the church File:Choir (architecture) of Saint-Martin Church, Colmar.jpg, The choir File:Scene collegiale colmar.jpg, Late Gothic life-sized "

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

" inside the church File:Stained glass face of Christ, Saint Martin Church, Colmar.jpg, Stained glass face of Christ File:Statue of Virgin and Child inside Saint-Martin church, Colmar.jpg, Statue of Virgin and Child File:Colmar StMartin 62.JPG, Organ File:Colmar Clock (1).jpg, Clock inside the church File:Colmar Cathédrale Judensau.JPG, One of Colmar's "Judensäue"

References

External links

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History and description of the organ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colmar, Martins Church, Colmar Churches in Haut-Rhin Judensau Monuments historiques of Haut-Rhin Roman Catholic churches in France Buildings and structures completed in 1365 Gothic architecture in France

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...