“ It was raised to the status of a town and surrounded with walls by Wölfelin, advocate (Landvogt) of the emperor Frederick II. in Alsace, a masterful and ambitious man, whose accumulated wealth was confiscated by the emperor in 1235, and who is said to have been murdered by his wife lest her portion should also be seized. In 1226 Colmar became an imperial city, and the civic rights (Stadtrecht) conferred on it in 1274 by Rudolph of Habsburg became the model for those of many other cities. ”

“ Of its edifices the most remarkable are the Roman Catholic parish church of St Martin, known also as the Münster, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, the Lutheran parish church (15th century) , the former Dominican monastery (1232–1289) , known as “Unterlinden” and now used as a museum, the Kaufhaus (trade-hall) of the 15th century, and the handsome government offices (formerly the Prefecture) . ”