Lycée Bartholdi, Historic school in France

The Lycée Bartholdi occupies the former Jesuit building at 1 boulevard Saint-Pierre in Colmar. Its Saint-Pierre chapel, built 1742–1750, has a four-bay nave with pilasters, a transept with two pedimented altars, and a polygonal choir with a rounded apse. The library is a central vessel framed by a colonnade with capitals, its painted ceiling depicting Parnassus.

The site was the Villa Columbaria, from which Colmar grew; in the 10th century it passed to the Benedictine abbey of Payerne, which founded the Saint-Pierre priory. The Jesuits bought it in 1714 and built the present building, with the Saint-Pierre chapel erected from 1742 to 1750. After their expulsion in 1765 it housed the royal college, then the Haut-Rhin central school in 1796 and the imperial lycée in 1856.

The building began as the Jesuit college; after their expulsion in 1765 it became a royal college, then the école centrale du Haut-Rhin in 1796 and the lycée impérial in 1856. The painted library ceiling depicts Mount Parnassus, and the first floor carries Colmar's coat of arms with its masse d'armes.

The building stands at 1, boulevard Saint-Pierre, and the school still operates there today. Visitors should note that it is a working secondary school, so the chapel, theatre, library and staircase are not freely open; access is limited to school use and heritage open days.

The wrought-iron stair rail was made by Strasbourg blacksmiths drawn to Colmar in the 18th century by the fame of its guild of marshals. On the first floor, look for the arms of Colmar on the coat of arms.