Formerly the town's Customs House and the centre of business in historic Colmar, the imposing edifice boasts a varnished tiled roof. Wares subject to communal tax were stored on the ground-floor of the main building (1480). The upper floor was home to the town council, the law courts and the council of magistrates. To the left, the late-16C spiral staircase with canted angles crowned by a pinnacle turret, leads to an attractive Renaissance wooden gallery.