Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and the happy man at the tip-top), is playfully decorated with about 100 faces and masks.
On the ground floor, the guy in the window's center has pig's feet.
Look four doors to the right to see a 1947 bakery sign (above the big pretzel), which
shows the boulangerie basics in Alsace: croissant, Kugelhopf, and baguette. Note the col-
ors of the French flag indicating that this house supported French rule.
AcrossfromtheMaisondesTêtes,studytheearly-20th-centurystoresigntrumpeting
the tasty wonders of a butcher who once occupied these premises (with the traditional
maiden with her goose about to be force-fed, all hung from the beak of a chicken).
• Angle down Rue de l'Eau (“Water Street”) for a shortcut to the TI and the Unterlinden
Museum, with its namesake linden trees lining the front yard (popular locally for making
the calming “Tilleul” tea). Your walk is over here, at the doorstep of Colmar's top mu-
seum.
Sights in Colmar
▲▲▲ Unterlinden Museum
This museum is Colmar's touristic claim to fame. Its extensive yet manageable collection
ranges from Roman Colmar to medieval winemaking exhibits, and from traditional wed-
ding dresses to paintings that give vivid insight into the High Middle Ages. The jewel of
the collection is Matthias Grünewald's grippingly realistic and exquisitely painted Isen-
heim Altarpiece.
Sometime in the near future, construction may force the Isenheim Altarpiece to be
moved to the Dominican Church a block away. Even without the altarpiece, this museum
is worth a visit.
Cost and Hours: €8, includes indispensable audioguide; May-Oct daily 9:00-18:00;
Nov-April Wed-Mon 9:00-12:00 & 14:00-17:00, closed Tue; 1 Rue d'Unterlinden, tel. 03
89 20 15 58, www.musee-unterlinden.com .
Self-Guided Tour: Use this commentary to supplement the included audioguide.
Big plans are under way to expand the museum over the next years, so be prepared for
construction-related changes.
Gothic Statues (Room 1): Room 1 features 14th-century Gothic statues from the
nearby Church of St. Martin's facade and other area churches. Study the Romanesque de-
tail of the capitals and the faces of the statues. Even though they endured the elements
outdoors for more than 500 years, it's still clear that they were sculpted with loving atten-
tion to detail. The masons knew their fine stonework would not be seen from below—it
was “for God's eyes only.” The reddish stone is quarried from the Vosges Mountains, giv-
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