Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Marché Couvert

Colmar was first mentioned by Charlemagne in his chronicle of the Saxon Wars. Emperor Charles the Fat held a Diet here in 884. In 1226, Emperor Frederick II granted Colmar the status of a free imperial city. In 1575, the city adopted the Protestant Reformation. During the Thirty Years' War, it was conquered by the Swedish army in 1632, which held it for two years. The city is known for its old town, its numerous sights and its museums, including the Unterlinden Museum. Goods can be transported to the market hall via the small canal. The hall was built on a metal frame, supported by cast iron pillars, between 1863 and 1865.

The island of Corsica is one of the 18 regions of France. It was colonized the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Romans. After the Roman empire collapsed, Corsica got invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. For a short while the island belonged to the Byzantine Empire, then the Franks granted the island to the Pope, in the early 11th century Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion. The island came under the influence of the Republic of Pisa, later it belonged to Genua for centuries. In 1755 after a long fight for independence from Genoa the independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed, but in 1769, when the island was conquered by France. As the areas near the coast over centuries have been threatened by attacks and raids of pirates many old hamlets and dwellings are wide inland, high in the mountains. During the time of the short living Corsican Republic the small fishing village was enlarged and became a trading port with city fortifications on order of Pascal Paoli in 1759. So the Republic had a Corsican port opposite the then Genoese Calvi. At that time the town was still named "Isola Rossa", as the official language upto 1848 was Italian. The neoclassical market hall was its 21 columns was erected 1844 - 1846 after the French had taken over Corsica.