Saint-Martin Church, Colmar

St Martin's Church, Colmar
Église Saint-Martin Collégiale Saint-Martin
Location	Colmar
Country	France
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
History
Founded	1234
Architecture
Heritage designation	Monument historique
Designated	1840
Style	Gothic architecture
Completed	1365
Specifications
Length	78 metres (256 ft)
Width	34 metres (112 ft)
Height	71 metres (233 ft)

The Église Saint-Martin (St. Martin church) is a Roman Catholic church located in Colmar, Haut-Rhin, France. It is in the principal Gothic architectural style. Because of its past as a collegiate church, 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 1972, remains were archaeologically dug out of a first church, built in Carolingian 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 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 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 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 windows. Another noteworthy detail of the building's exterior, testament to the troubled History of Jews in Alsace, is the presence of two "Judensäue", one in the shape of a gargoyle, the other as a corner sculpture of a portal.

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