Next H and I went to the only sizable city of this vacation and toured the ancient centre of Colmar but not before making a detour for the road side attraction in the point-rond of the regional airport—a twelve metre scale model of the Statue of Liberty, erected in 2004 and inaugurated by first lady Brigette Chirac in honorary of the hundredth anniversary of the death of the city’s famous son, Frรฉdรฉric Auguste Bartholdi—whom initally designed the monumental sculpture for the opening of the Suez Canal.
Originally a Roman settlement, the name is shortened from Columbarium—Latin for a dovecoat used later for the public storage of urns and cremains on a wall or within a pagoda. As in the other large Alsatian city, Strasbourg, there is a district long a tributary of the River Ill called la Petite Venise—the quarter formerly home to fishmongers, butchers and tanners and the buildings that form the cityscape are hewn from sandstone of the surrounding Vosges to give the architecture a signature yellow and pink hue. The collegiate church of St Martin’s is at the heart of the old town.
synchronoptica
one year ago: papabili (with synchronopticรฆ) plus assorted links worth revisiting
twelve years ago: US government shut-down show-down over Obama Care
fourteen years ago: salvage thieves plus advances in Chinese aerospace
fifteen years ago: a bumper crop of exoplanets plus planning a trip to Ireland
