Church Saint-Matthieu - Colmar

The Matthias Church (formerly the Franciscan Church, later the Protestant Matthias Church) is a historic monument in Colmar, in the French department of Haut-Rhin.

Due to its remarkable sound quality, an international music festival is held every year.
The nave of the former Franciscan church was built in 1292. In 1543, the city acquired ownership of the church and established a hospital in the conventional buildings.

After the Lutheran Reformation, the building was made available to the Protestants in 1575.

Lutheran worship was banned by the Jesuits between 1627 and 1632, when Gustaf Horn, general of the Swedish king, took the town of Colmar and expelled them.

The arch between the nave and the choir was bricked up in 1715 by order of the French king. The choir was returned to the Protestants in 1937, but the dividing wall was not demolished until 1987.

The same ship was restored between 1991 and 19974.

The old church has been on the list of historical monuments since November 2, 1948.
Of the original buildings, which were used for Protestant worship, only the chapel remains. It consists of a choir 30 m long and 23 m high, narrow but largely lit by large windows. The nave, 43 m long, and the aisles, reserved for the faithful, are separated from the choir by a rood screen.

This rood screen also features a wooden Christ from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

The large organs are a work by Silbermann from 1731 and were classified as a historic monument on September 23, 1986 for the instrumental part and for the organ case on June 23, 1988.

The panels of the balustrades and galleries are decorated with oil paintings.

Its remarkable acoustic qualities make it possible to organize an international music festival every year.

willem vandenameele