Colmar is located about 40 miles south of Strasbourg and 10 miles west of the Rhine, and it is one of the larger cities in Alsace with 68,000 people. Its founding dates back to the time of Charlemagne in the 9th century or before, and was designated an Imperial City in the times of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages. Its poliical history parallels the rest of Alsace, being taken by France from the Holy Roman Empire in the 17th century. At the end of World War II, Colmar gained its freedom from Germany in February, 1945, after difficult battles between the Allies and Germans in the “Colmar Pocket”.

Colmar’s economy is based primarily on wine production, technology and tourism.

The city is a big tourist mecca today. It has many medieval buildings, including a cathedral and churches, many fountains and Alsatian Renaissance half-timber houses.

History and Facts about Colmar