The Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket is a gorgeous area in the Alsace region in northwestern France. It was the only optional Viking excursion we chose. It was rather expensive, so we waffled back and forth about spending the extra funds. In hindsight, I’m glad we did!
The fighting in the Colmar Pocket was part of the Battle of the Bulge. The battles there were mostly unknown to me, so I was glad to become aware of this important part of history. Lastly, the villages we saw were so beautiful!
Strasbourg was an included excursion in France, which I certainly loved. But, I was happy to also be able to see the beautiful French countryside and villages in the area.
Colmar Pocket Museum
The museum, is located in the small village of Turckheim. They dedicated the museum to the Colmar Pocket battles that occurred during winter 1944-1945. Local residents and veterans donated many of the items in the museum .
American and French soldiers liberated the towns and villages in the area, which was the last stronghold of the German army. In fact, Germany heavily defended the Alsace-Lorraine area. The defense was second only to Normandy.
The museum provides a film about the battles and also many artifacts from the war.
In the uniforms below, the winter uniforms are most noteworthy. The battles in the Colmar Pocket occurred during an unusually bitter winter. There was 3 feet of snow on the ground with temperatures as low as -4 degrees F.
Hitler annexed the Alsace-Lorraine region in 1940. The German army held the area from November 1944 until Allies liberated it on February 2nd, 1945. It was the last battle on French soil.
The Allies had liberated Strasbourg three months earlier. The Colmar Pocket battle lasted twenty-one days in bitter cold and the losses were great. The Americans lost 8,000 lives and the French lost 16,000. Germany lost 20,000 lives and 16,000 were imprisoned.
Colmar Pocket Memorials
The monument below honors American soldiers from the 3rd, 28th, and 36th Infantry Divisions. It sits on a hilltop with a plaque, a flag, and insignias for the divisions. Lightning recently hit the flag and when we were there, they had not replaced it. Our guide was very unhappy that several days had passed without the issue being addressed .
The area near the memorial has vineyards as far as the eye can see. The wine of the Alsace region is highly regarded. Most are white wines.
The Vosges Mountains, which are over 1,000 feet high, separate France and Germany and thus made the task of entering Germany more difficult for the Allies.
The only German concentration camp on French soil was located in the Vosges Mountains at an elevation of 26o feet. The Germans opened it in 1941 and sent 54,000 people there. Consequently, a third of them perished.
Ostheim Memorial
The war memorial is actually a destroyed building from WWII in the town of Ostheim. It honors those killed or missing in WWI and WWII. Note the stork nest on the top. The stork is a symbol of the Alsace region and the inhabitants highly regard it.
They have affixed a plaque dedicated to the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division to the monument.
Audie Murphy Memorial
Lastly, the Audie Murphy memorial is dedicated to the most decorated soldier in WWII. He earned 28 medals, including three from France and one from Belgium. The memorial is also near where the fighting took place.
Murphy climbed upon a burning Wolverine M10 tank with a machine gun. Though wounded in the leg, he prevented the enemy’s advance by defending three sides for almost an hour. He single-handedly killed over 50 enemy soldiers.
Murphy later became an actor and appeared in 44 films. He was a true American hero!
Turckheim
Turckheim is a village that was a site of fighting during WWII and is where the museum is located. It still has 13th century walls that are older than most in the area.
The Hotel’s Renaissance building on the left in the photo below dates back to 1540 and is a historic monument.
The old guardhouse has an interesting history too. It dates back to 1575 and was once a covered market and later the Town Hall. Currently, it houses the police department. The bell at the top was acquired in 1658 and the fountain in 1667. A statue of Mary and Jesus stand atop the fountain.
There was a lovely pastry shop inside the restaurant below.
The Munster Gate was built in the 14th century and has a dark history. Witches were led through the gate to be burned at the stake in the square. The bell in its tower had another function. It warned of impending thunderstorms.
Colmar Pocket Church
The present building of the Church Sainte Anne was built in 1839 because the prior one was destroyed by fire. The Romanesque bell tower is all that remains from the original 12th century building. A Turckheim sanctuary was first mentioned in the year 898.
Note the original bell tower below on the right.
The church was empty while I was there, but it was beautiful and peaceful inside.
It is also pretty looking to the back of the church and there is a good view of the organ above.
We saw a lot of ancient and awe-inspiring cathedrals on our cruise, but this church was also special to experience.
Statue of Liberty Connection
The sculptor of The Statue of Liberty, Auguste Bartholdi, was born in Colmar. To honor him, they placed a miniature replica of the statue in a Colmar traffic circle. The resin statue is almost 40 feet tall . It was so cool to see.
In Conclusion
I’m so glad we included this excursion in our Viking Rhine River cruise. However, it makes me think we might have missed out by not taking some of the other options.
Above all, the Alsace region is just breathtaking! Strasbourg was another Alsace region city we loved.
