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Showing posts with the label Issenheim altarpiece

The Alsace Wine Region

The Route du Vin is an oenophile's dream destination. With its vineyards producing rieslings, gewurztraminers and pinot blanc among others, visitors drive through its medieval villages for a taste of Alsatian fare. Colmar sits at the southern tip of this wine road. At first glance, it looks like any other bustling city. But as you enter the center of the city, you are transported to another age. Fourteenth and 15th century half timbered houses, seemingly untouched by time, invite you to linger. At every turn of its cobblestoned streets, a picture waits to be taken. Colmar once led the Decapole , an alliance of ten cities that banded together to protect them from taxes levied by the nobility. The Ancienne Douane (Customs House) is a 15th century building where members of the Decapole once met. The legacy of the merchant class remains in finely detailed homes such as the Maison Pfister with its balcony and turret and the Maison des Têtes which, true to its name, is decorated with sc