2026-06-13 Colmar Market, Breisach Germany,

 Saturday, June 13, 2026

We have no more company. That takes the fun level down a bit and is a bit lonely, but no worries: Dave has a list of  24 things he still wants to do in the 12 days we have left here in France.  First on the list is the St Joseph Market in Colmar. This weekly market wraps around the St Joseph church and ends at noon. Luckily, it isn't far as we didn't leave home till almost 10:30. We are moving a bit slowly this morning.

Our patio in the morning seen through the kitchen door

The market is in Colmar on the square next to the church of St Joseph. By the time we got to the market and parked, the market was beginning to pack up (it was, after all, noon). Nevertheless, we were able to purchase some cheese and produce that was on our short grocery list. At home we unpacked the market items and had a quick lunch. Dave had a plan for the afternoon.

St Joseph church in Colmar

Interior of St Joseph church

The market was bigger than I expected as this is the western part of the city.

Packing up

We've been to Neuf-Brisach several times, but never to its German counterpart across the Rhine, Breisach-am-Rhein. So that's where we headed. It's a brief 20 minute drive, but we needed to remember our passports - just in case.

Breisach-am-Rhein seen from the Ile de Rhin, the island in the middle of the Rhine, belonging to France.

Breisach is known for its church on a rocky outcropping (called Muensterberg de Breisach) that dominates the city. So that's where we headed first. Dave was skeptical that there was a road to the top, but I convinced him to try and low and behold, there was a road up to the church and even parking. Whew! My scooter doesn't like climbing hills and this is one tall hill. 

That's too far up there to get to with my little scooter.

You can see the church from downtown Breisach. It was a hot day, and these kids were having a blast playing in the fountain in the middle of town,

Breisach's name comes from the Celtic word for breakwater. Before the Rhine was straightened in the 19th century, it flooded frequently and Breisach's hill would become an island in the middle of the Rhine. The hilltop has been inhabited ever since the Iron Age. The Romans fortified it in 260 AD. 

This sculpture of a bull and naked woman reaching for a star commemorates the 1950 decision to form a united Europe. It is inspired by the Greek mythology story where Zeus in the form of a bull kidnaps the Phoenician princess Europa. (Thanks Google for the sources.)

St Stephen's cathedral, built in Romanesque and Gothic style

The crypt was under the chancel as is usual, but completely open to the outside. 

The Muenster (church) St Etienne was begun in the 12th century in Gothic style, but wasn't finished until the 15th century. As is the history of all villages along the Rhine, Breisach-am-Rhein was traded back and forth between the Germans and the French for hundreds of years. It had been part of Germany since 1945, although the town was 85% destroyed in the Allied bombings. 

The back of the nave is decorated by frescoes painted by Schongauer. They are in bad condition at the moment.

One of the few churches we've seen that has a rood screen, that sculptured screen with 3 arches that separates the altar area from the worshipers.

carvings on the rood screen

The ornately carved altar tryptich has wings  that can close.

Views from the church are expansive from all sides. Once we had seen all that we could on the Muensterberg, we headed down to the old town.

looking west across the Rhine

looking east over the city

We ran into lots of folks at the church who were on this cruise ship. I've never seen one this long before.

The Radbrunnen tower was used to draw water from a well 41 feet below up to the top of the Muensterberg. It was also a prison. The prisoners provided the labor for drawing up the water. One of the oldest buildings in Breisach-am-Rhein built in 12th century.

Hagenbach tower partway down the hill toward the town

Bach home in Logelheim for a few minutes before heading to Ste Croix-en-Plaine. The firemen are sponsoring a tarte flambée picnic as a fundraiser for the volunteer firefighters. Lots of cars in town, lots of people at picnic tables. As is the practice, you buy tickets for what you want to eat and drink. (you could get a rote wurst if you didn't fancy a tarte flambée.) The line is long but no one seems to mind. There's were so many neighborly conversations in the lines. The same for the tents with long picnic tables. There were a couple dozen kids playing on the playground next to where the tents were set up. Several were doing what we call in our family "drive-by eating". That is they stopped by every once in a while to take a bite of their dinner. 

In line for tickets. Lots of meeting and greeting happening here.

Once we had tickets, Dave stood in line at the food stations - first for drinks, then for the tarte flambées. They must have done this before because both the drink and food line moved very fast. We found a place at the end of a picnic table under the big white tent and enjoyed our food and drink. I felt very much like an outsider since we didn't know anyone. It seemed like the whole town was at the fest. We left after finishing our dinner but all the way home, I was pleased to say we had contributed to the village's welfare. And I was impressed at the community shown at this event. But perhaps that's common in small communities like this. (population just over 3,000) I was glad we went.

We each got a tarte flambée. Made on the thinnest pizza crust I've ever seen, it is topped with cheese. For ours we added lardons - thin strips of bacon. It's then quickly cooked over a wood fire.