Maison Pfister, Renaissance house in Old Town, Colmar, France
Maison Pfister is a Renaissance house on Rue des Marchands in the old quarter of Colmar, sitting at a street corner with a two-story wooden gallery running along its facade. The building also has an octagonal corner tower and painted wall scenes that cover most of the exterior walls.
The house was built in 1537 for a wealthy hat merchant named Ludwig Scherer and is considered one of the earliest examples of Renaissance style in Colmar. It later took the name of the Pfister family, who purchased it in the 1800s.
The painted outer walls of Maison Pfister show religious scenes alongside portraits of emperors and princes that were popular in the 1500s. These images give a sense of the values and visual language that mattered to wealthy citizens of that era.
The house stands at a busy crossroads in the old town and is easy to reach on foot. Daylight is the best condition for seeing the painted details and wooden carvings on the facade clearly.
The wooden spiral staircase inside the octagonal tower was built using interlocking joints without metal fasteners, a technique that demanded great skill in the 1500s. Looking closely at the staircase from below reveals how the steps appear to float without visible support.
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