France for Freebooters
An independent traveller's guide to France and its history
FLAMES IN ALSACE: THE FLAME OF LIBERTY, AND FLAME CAKES (Flammenkuchen)
No, you’re not dreaming. This is France, and that is a Statue of Liberty you’re seeing.
The other Statue of Liberty
In summer 2004, in Colmar, Alsace, another Statue of Liberty was erected and dedicated. Over the years, this very special region in northeast France has been alternately in French and German hands, and as a result has developed its own special culture and cuisine (such as the flame cakes). The area is also famous for white wine, and in autumn the hills are ablaze as the leaves on the vines change color.
Auguste Bartholdi centennial
The medieval city of Colmar, in the middle of the Alsace Valley, is the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904), the French sculptor who designed and constructed the world-famous Statue of Liberty that stands guard in New York Harbor. This year, 2004, is the centennial of his death in Paris, and Colmar is proud to honor its native son.
Throughout his life, Bartholdi was obsessed with liberty. After his native Alsace was taken over by Germany in 1871 he understood what it meant to have liberty taken away and how important liberty was. Bartholdi is one of the local heroes in Colmar (others are Roesselmann, Rapp, and Martin Schongauer). A museum is dedicated to him, and he designed many of the fountains dotted around the town (such as Fontaine Roesselmann, the Schwendi Fountain, and Fontaine du Vigneron).
Bartholdi Museum
The Bartholdi Museum, situated in the family’s former sumptuous town house in the old part of the city close to Cathedral St-Martin, mounted a special exhibition called “Bartholdi the Lion” for the occasion of the centennial. The focus is on another famous colossal sculpture of his, the Lion of Belfort (11m high and 22m long), which he crafted as a symbol of the fierce resistance of the people of Belfort to the Prussian army in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). But, there is also much information on his involvement in America’s Lady of Liberty and on his many other projects, such as a large statue in Paris---dedicated to aviators, postal and railway workers, which was destroyed in WW2---and the Vercingetorix Fountain in Clermont-Ferrand in central France.
He traveled in Egypt a couple of times, and used a pseudonym there: Amilcar Hasenfratz. He also did many busts of famous people, such as Lafayette and Washington, as well as paintings and drawings. He was obviously a very talented man who worked in a variety of different artistic media.
Colmar erects its own Statue of Liberty
On July 4th, 2004, Colmar also inaugurated their own Lady Liberty, on a busy round-about on the road out of town to Strasbourg, the EU capital. Like her namesake in New York, this copy is a tall woman wearing a flowing gown of weathered green copper. Her right arm lifts a torch, a beacon to freedom and peace. Her left hand holds a book of law. A broken shackle chain lies at her feet. On her head rests a crown with 7 large spikes, like sunrays.
The ‘real’ Miss Liberty is a statue, but far more than that she is also an American emblem, and a world symbol of man’s hope for a life of liberty and peace, and is one of the most famous and meaningful landmarks in the world. This copy is also doubly important, as a symbol and as a commemoration to a great man. Amid great pomp and ceremony, the 12 meter-high statuesque green lady in Colmar was officially recognized, with everyone’s hope that the liberty flame will continue to burn brightly, and that this symbol of French and American friendship will continue to bring the two countries together.
Edouard de Laboulaye would have approved: he conceived the idea for the Statue of Liberty in 1865 in Paris and commissioned Bartholdi to design and construct it, because he dreamed of a lasting friendship between France and the USA.
Colmar is a lovely town to visit anyway, but now you can also learn a little bit of American history there. The old part of the city is not that big really---easily walkable--- and is full of its own history. Old timber-frame buildings, dark wooden beams with the plaster in between painted in different colors, line the narrow cobblestone streets, cluster around the massive pinkish-orange sandstone Cathedral St-Martin, and follow the river and small canals. The places along the water are really pretty, with thousands of bright flowers in pots and planters reflected in the water.
Tarte Flambée
One of the famous regional specialities is tarte flambee, Alsace’s Flame Cakes (flammenkuchen). They’re circular, almost like a very thin pizza, spread with cheese, onion, cream and a topping, and ideally cooked in an open wood fire oven. Favorite toppings are chevre (goat cheese), escargots (snails), crevettes (shrimp), and flambé au Nordique (with smoked salmon). Add a green salad, and a local beer (such as Binding, Franziskaner Weissbier, or Dorelei) and you have a wonderful, tasty meal. Prices are very reasonable, ranging from 7-10 Euros each. Two good places to sample this delicacy in Colmar are both in the Little Venise area. We tried both and enjoyed them. Le Roesselmann (named after a local hero, who lost his life in 1261 fighting against the soldiers of the bishop of Strasbourg) is on Place des Six Montagnes Noires (Square of Six Black Mountains), just at the end of Rue Turenne. At La Krutenau, on the canal just steps away (1, rue de la Poisonniere), you can watch the young girl prepare and cook the tarts in a wood oven. It’s very peaceful sitting right next to the water, perhaps with a gondola swishing quietly by, swallows circling above, and the sound of kids laughing.
Where to find the Statue
Drive north out of town on the Avenue d’Alsace (N 442) towards Strasbourg. The landmark statue is on the big round-about that has the sign for Colmar airport.
The Bartholdi Museum
Musee Bartholdi, 30, Rue des Marchands. Tel: +33 (0)3 89 41 90 60 www.musee-bartholdi.com Open March-end December, daily except Tuesdays, and May 1st, November 1st, December 25th. 10am-noon, 2-6pm. €4.10 per adult.
Colmar
Tourist Information Office, Tel: +33 (0)3 89 20 68 92 NOTE: The Statue of Liberty in New York, closed to the public after the events of 9/11, re-opened to visitors on August 3, 2004.
e-mail Vivienne