Maison des Chevaliers de Saint-Jean, house in Colmar, France

The Maison des Chevaliers de Saint-Jean is a pinkish-beige building on rue Saint-Jean in Colmar, with a second entrance at 43 Grand-Rue. Two perpendicular wings enclose a closed inner courtyard. The street façades have mullioned windows, and the galleries rebuilt in the 19th century hold five round arches per level: rib vaults on the first floor, ribbed cross vaults on the second. The guard-rail is carved with mouchette roses, and a stone balustrade tops the upper level.

The building was erected in 1608, dismantled in the 19th century and then rebuilt identically. Its façades and roofs have been classified as monuments historiques since 9 July 1903. It stands on rue Saint-Jean, with another entrance at 43 Grand-Rue, near the commanderie Saint-Jean, with which it has nothing in common despite the name.

The façades with their mullioned windows and rose motifs show how Venetian design reached the Alsatian region during the Renaissance. These details reveal the architectural connections that tied distant European cities together in that era.

The building can be viewed from Saint-Jean Street or from Grand-Rue, both entrances offering perspectives on the connected structures. Visitors should allow time to examine the façade details, as these are fully visible from the outside.

The name is misleading: the house has nothing in common with the nearby Commanderie Saint-Jean, the actual seat of the Knights of Saint John in Colmar. It stands on Rue Saint-Jean, with a second entrance at 43 Grand-Rue, and was listed as a monument historique on 9 July 1903.