The French Revolution brought about the dissolution of the Dominican community of Unterlinden. In 1793, the nuns left the convent, which had become the property of the City of Colmar. The convent buildings were turned into a barracks and gradually fell into neglect, until the mid-19th century, when Louis Hugot, the archivist of the City of Colmar, saved the convent from demolition by transforming it into a museum.