Rue des Tanneurs – Tanners’ Street

The Rue des Tanneurs, in Colmar

The Rue des Tanneurs is a picturesque street of Colmar, lined with high houses of former tanners with open lofts. The Colmar audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this district with an artisan past, a witness of the history of the trades of the town.

The district of the tanners and their drying lofts

The Rue des Tanneurs is one of the most characteristic streets of old Colmar, in the area of the Little Venice. As its name indicates, it was the district of the tanners, those artisans who worked leather, an important activity in the past, but also malodorous and requiring a lot of water, hence its location near the river. The tanners' houses, restored, are recognised by their particular architecture: they are high narrow half-timbered residences, whose top floors, more airy, formed open drying lofts where the hides were hung to dry. A witness of the artisan past and the life of the trades of the past, the Rue des Tanneurs is a charming stop full of history in Colmar.

What to see

Here you wander among the high narrow half-timbered houses of the former tanners, recognisable by their open top floors that served as drying lofts for the hides, in the area of the Little Venice. The Rue des Tanneurs testifies to the artisan past of Colmar. It is a charming stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Rue des Tanneurs lies in the area of the Little Venice, in the heart of Colmar, reachable on foot. It is a public street freely accessible; the shops have their own hours. It is particularly charming and flowered in the fine season.

Why do the houses of the Rue des Tanneurs have open floors in Colmar?

Because the top floors, more airy, formed open drying lofts where the tanners hung the hides to dry; these artisans settled near the river, their activity requiring a lot of water.

Where is the Rue des Tanneurs?

In the area of the Little Venice, in the heart of Colmar, in France.