Haut-Rhin: French administrative district of the European Collectivity of Alsace

Its name means Upper Rhine. The Rhine river is Haut-Rhin's eastern border. The prefecture (capital) of Haut-Rhin is Colmar.

Haut-Rhin
Department
Prefecture building of the Haut-Rhin department, in Colmar
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Haut-Rhin in France
Coordinates: 47°57′51″N 7°19′11″E / 47.96417°N 7.31972°E / 47.96417; 7.31972
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Département	4 March 1790
Prefecture	Colmar
Subprefectures	Altkirch, Mulhouse, Thann
Government
• President	Brigitte Klinkert
Area
• Total	3,525.2 km2 (1,361.1 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	760,134
• Density	220/km2 (560/sq mi)
Demonym	Haut-Rhinois
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-68
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	17
Communes	366
Website	Haut-Rhin Council

Haut-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It has three districts: Altkirch, Belfort and Colmar, with Colmar as is capital.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the three districts were changed into five arrondissements: Colmar, Altkirch, Belfort, Delémont and Porrentruy. The arrondissements Delémont and Porrentruy were eliminated in 1814 and transferred to Switzerland.

The subprefecture of Altkirch was moved to Mulhouse in 1857.

The Haut-Rhin department was eliminated in 1871 when the territory became part of Germany except for a part that forms the Territoire de Belfort.

In 1919, Haut-Rhin is again an department when the territory became part of France with the arrondissements Colmar-Ville, Colmar-Campagne, Altkirch, Guebwiller, Mulhouse, Ribeauvillé and Thann. Its capital is Colmar.

The arrondissements Colmar-Ville and Colmar-Campagne were combined in 1934 to form the arrondissement of Colmar.

In 2015, the arrondissements of Guebwiller and Ribeauvillé were eliminated and the name of the arrondissements of Thann and Colmar were changed to Thann-Guebwiller and Colmar-Ribeauvillé.

Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departments of the former administrative Alsace region. It is in the Grand Est region. It is next to 3 departments in 2 regionsː

• Grand Est region
  • Bas-Rhin
  • Vosges
• Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
  • Territoire de Belfort

To the east, the Haut-Rhin is next to Germany along the Rhine river, and to the south it is next to Switzerland.

Haut-Rhin's area is 3,525.2 km² (1,361 sq mi). Its highest point is Grand Ballon (47°54′4″N 7°5′54″E / 47.90111°N 7.09833°E / 47.90111; 7.09833 (Grand Ballon)) in the Vosges Mountains, in the eastern part of the department; it is 1,424 m (4,672 ft) high. The lowest point is 179 m (587 ft) high along the Rhine river.

The main river in the department is the Rhine that forms the eastern border of the department, and of France.

Climate

The area around Colmar, at an altitude of about 210 m (690 ft), few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Strasbourg is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Strasbourg is 594.4 mm (23.4 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is June with 71.1 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 33 mm (1.3 in).

The average temperature for the year in Strasbourg is 10 °C (50 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 18.9 °C (66.0 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 1.1 °C (34.0 °F).

Haut-Rhin is managed by the Departmental Council of Haut-Rhin in Colmar. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

Administrative divisions

There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 366 communes (municipalities) in Haut-Rhin.

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Haut-Rhin department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

The people in the Haut-Rhin department are known, in French, as Haut-Rhinois or (women: Haut-Rhinoises),

Haut-Rhin had a population, in 2014, of 760,134, for a population density of 215.6 inhabitants/km². The arrondissement of Mulhouse, with 350,032 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Haut-Rhin

The 10 communes with more inhabitants in the Haut-Rhin department are:

•  
  Mulhouse, old town hall.
•  
  Colmar's old town.
•  
  Historic centre of Altkirch.
•  
  The Grand Ballon, southern side.
•  
  Hunawihr and its vineyards.

• Arrondissements of the Haut-Rhin department
• Communes of the Haut-Rhin department