The Old Customs House or Koïfhus, built in 1480, is the oldest public building in Colmar, Alsace, Grand Est, France. Tolls and taxes were levied here on imported goods and delegates representing a federation of ten Alsatian cities of the Holy Roman Empire used to meet in an upstairs room until their alliance was disbanded in 1679.
Colmar, Alsace, Grand Est, France: flowers and tree blossom combine to brighten this view, from Place de l’Ancienne Douane (Old Customs Square), of the restored Old Customs House or Koïfhus, founded in 1480 and Colmar’s oldest public building. The Old Customs House was built at a strategic location at the confluence of two of the town’s main thoroughfares, the Grand’Rue and the Rue des Marchands. The ground floor was used as a warehouse and space where customs tolls and taxes could be levied on imported goods. On the first floor was a room used for meetings of magistrates and of the deputies of the Decapolis or Décapole, a federation of ten Alsatian cities of the Holy Roman Empire, including Colmar. The alliance lasted from 1354 until it was disbanded when Alsace was annexed by France in 1679. Two adjoining buildings were added to the Customs House in the 1500s, but by the 1800s, it was in such a poor condition that demolition was planned. Instead, the building was comprehensively restored in the 1890s, and in 2002, further work allowed the restoration of a Renaissance-style sandstone balustrade which had been removed in 1976. The abolition of commercial privileges in the late-1700s French Revolution halted the original function of the Customs House. It served as a theatre in the 1840s and was then occupied by Colmar’s Chamber of Commerce and by a school for boys. It is now used as exhibition space and it hosts a variety of other public events.
Size: 2735px × 4111px
Location: Colmar, Alsace, Grand Est, France.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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