Little Venice Audio Guide

Little Venice: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Little Venice

   Welcome to Little Venice, or La Petite Venise, in the Alsace city of Colmar. Think of it less as a single monument and more as a whole old quarter, a pocket of the historic center where the canals of the river Lauch weave between rows of colorful, half-timbered houses. Its flower-draped bridges and tall, narrow façades remind many visitors of towns across the German border, and that is no accident, because Colmar sits only about 20 kilometers from it. The name suggests a grand Italian lagoon, but the real charm here is on a human scale. The quarter's interconnected waterways and canal-side houses earned it the nickname, and the Colmar tourist office suggests it probably comes from the way houses stand along both sides of the river. Today you can drift along on a boat ride of about half an hour, or simply sit in a café beside the water and watch the reflections. Over the next few stops, I will tell you how this picture-book scene began as a working, rather unglamorous place, and what the district has gone through since.

2. 02

   A Marsh Turned Into a Neighborhood

   Before it became a postcard, this was not a fashionable address. Little Venice developed beyond the city's fortifications, on a vast marsh crossed by the river Lauch and its tributaries. In its early days it was not exactly a desirable place to live. It was Colmar's market gardeners and winegrowers who tamed the land. They channeled the Lauch and its tributaries, which had meandered through the wet ground outside the city walls, and the canals you see are the legacy of that work. The boats that glide past today were once working craft, and some of them carried vegetables rather than tourists. There is a second thread to the story. Another account holds that in the Middle Ages the Lauch was redirected toward the city center to bring water to the inhabitants, giving houses and businesses direct access to it, and that this began a golden age for Colmar. Either way, the water shaped the quarter, and the quarter helped shape the city's prosperity.

3. 03

   Butchers, Tanners and Fishmongers

   Look at the water and imagine it at work. The stretch of the Lauch that crosses this area formerly served as the quarter of the butchers, the tanners and the fishmongers. These trades needed plenty of water, which makes the canal-side setting entirely logical, even if it is far from the romantic image of today. That fishing heritage lives on in a street name. The Quai de la Poissonnerie, the quay of the fish market, runs alongside a section of the river in the heart of Little Venice and is now one of the most photogenic streets in Colmar. Its history includes a dramatic chapter: a fire destroyed around 40 houses along the quay, among them the home of Jean Henri Frid, which Colmar's municipal heritage records describe as one of the finest houses in the city. So as you look at the rows of tall, brightly painted façades, remember that behind the color is a long working past of markets, trades and rebuilding.

4. 04

   Colmar Between France and Germany

   To understand the look of Little Venice, zoom out to the city around it. Colmar was first mentioned in the ninth century, and the Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat held a diet here in 884. In 1226 Emperor Frederick the Second granted it the status of a free imperial city, and in 1354 it joined the Décapole, a league of Alsatian cities. In the seventeenth century it was annexed by France under Louis the Fourteenth, though it kept a distinct German character in its language, culture and architecture. That double heritage is why the old town feels so homogeneous and so unusual. Colmar was mostly spared the destruction of the French Revolution and of the wars of 1870 to 1871, 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945, so its historic cityscape survives remarkably intact. And the city works to keep it that way. Changing the color of a façade requires local approval, because the rules aim to preserve the town's architectural harmony. Nearby, you can also seek out the Gothic Church of Saint Martin and the Pfister House, which is described as the first example of Renaissance architecture in Colmar.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Little Venice rewards slow walking. Try crossing a bridge, pausing, and looking along the water in both directions, noticing how the houses lean toward the canal and how each one wears a different color. If you have time, take the half-hour boat ride and see the quarter from the water, the way it was once used. Or sit at a café by the river and watch the light change on the façades. Nearby you can follow the Quai de la Poissonnerie and picture the fish market that gave it its name. And as you wander on toward the rest of the old town, keep asking yourself where the working marsh ends and the fairy tale begins. The more you look, the more of the story you will find.