THE FORMER TOWN HALL

Built in 1552 and once described by the famous essayist Montaigne as a "magnificent gilded palace", the Hôtel de Ville is a masterpiece of Rhenish Renaissance architecture that once symbolised the mini republic´s attachment to its liberties. The frescoes illustrate the virtues extolled by the reformed religion as well as the coats-of-arms of the Swiss cantons to which Mulhouse was allied. Upon the right-hand gable hangs the Klapperstein, or "rattle stone", which malicious people were forced to wear as punishment. 

SAINT ETIENNE PROTESTANT CHURCH

This Protestant church was built between 1858 and 1868 on the site of a 12th-century church. Designed by J.B. Schacre, the church was built in the highly fashionable Neo-Gothic style. The stained-glass windows are from the original 12th-century church and are some of the most beautiful in the Upper Rhine region.

THE MIEG HOUSE

The house was first mentioned in 1418 and in around 1460 it was converted into an inn called Le Soleil. It remained an hotel until 1535 and has remained largely unchanged since 1560. From 1679 to 1840, the house belonged to the Miegs, one of the town´s most illustrious families. The most famous resident was Mathieu Mieg, nicknamed "the Chronicler", reputed for his support for the republic-town and his talent as a painter.

THE PHARMACIE AU LYS

The building was first inhabited in 1464. In 1634, the year of the Plague and right in the middle of the Thirty Years War, the house underwent extensive renovations. To mark the occasion, the craftsmen carved the year ´1634´ into the lintel of the door on the Rue des Bouchers.
Shortly afterwards, in 1649, the house was purchased by Jean-Henri Engelmann who converted it into a dispensary. The building has remained a pharmacy ever since and boasts an ornate ceiling decorated with 17th-century paintings.

THE VILLA STEINBACH

The original site of the villa was occupied by the Knights of the Teutonic Order. At this time the property consisted of a large enclosure with a chapel and monastic buildings. In 1780 the land was sold to a factory-owner named Vetter who had a townhouse built. Construction was completed in 1788 in the 19th century it was bought by a certain Georges Steinbach and enlarged. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Villa Steinbach was one of the handsomest houses in town. It is now the Museum of Fine Arts.

THE CHAPEL OF SAINT JOHN

The Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights of Malta, settled in Mulhouse in the early 13th century and was the wealthiest and most influential order in the town. The chapel, built in the 13th century, was renovated and refurbished in the 14th and 15th centuries and is surrounded by a cemetery and commander´s residence. After the Reformation, the Knights left Mulhouse and the chapel was sold as communal property in 1798. It was converted into a brewery, then a smithy and a warehouse. In 1893 it became a Listed Historic Monument and was restored.

THE LOEWENFELS HOUSE

This townhouse, the most beautiful 18th-century building in Mulhouse, was built between 1764 and 1770. In 1788 it was acquired by the Schlumberger family and was subsequently sold to a brewer and the Sainte-Marie Association. No expense was spared for the building: the building materials were brought in from quarries some distance away and the house boasts a number of elaborate rocaille-style sculptures.

THE TOUR DE L´EUROPE

In the 1960´s, the Porte Jeune area of the town was renovated to make way for a more functional town centre. The place de l´Europe was decorated with the coats-of-arms of European cities and the Tour de l’Europe, designed by local architect François Spoerry, was built and inaugurated in 1972. This triangular tower represents the town´s three borders: France, Germany and Switzerland.