Haut-Rhin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Haut-Rhin
Department
Prefecture building of the Haut-Rhin department, in Colmar
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Haut-Rhin in France
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Département	4 March 1790
Prefecture	Colmar
Subprefectures	Altkirch, Mulhouse, Thann
Area
• Total	3,525.2 km2 (1,361.1 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	760,134
• Density	215.629/km2 (558.476/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Haut-Rhinois
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-68
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	17
Communes	366

Haut-Rhin is a special area in France, like a county or state. It's part of the Grand Est region. Its name means Upper Rhine, and it's named after the big Rhine river that flows along its eastern side. The main city, or capital, of Haut-Rhin is Colmar.

History of Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin was one of the first 83 departments created in France. This happened on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution. Back then, it was split into three smaller areas called districts: Altkirch, Belfort, and Colmar. Colmar was already its capital.

In 1800, France created new administrative areas called arrondissements. The three districts in Haut-Rhin became five arrondissements: Colmar, Altkirch, Belfort, Delémont, and Porrentruy. However, in 1814, Delémont and Porrentruy were given to Switzerland.

Later, in 1857, the main office of Altkirch was moved to Mulhouse.

Haut-Rhin stopped being a French department in 1871. This was because most of its land became part of Germany. A small part of it became a new area called the Territoire de Belfort.

But in 1919, Haut-Rhin became a French department again. This happened after World War I, when the land returned to France. At that time, it had several arrondissements: Colmar-Ville, Colmar-Campagne, Altkirch, Guebwiller, Mulhouse, Ribeauvillé, and Thann. Colmar remained its capital.

In 1934, the Colmar-Ville and Colmar-Campagne arrondissements were combined. They formed one arrondissement simply called Colmar.

More recently, in 2015, some changes happened again. The arrondissements of Guebwiller and Ribeauvillé were removed. The names of Thann and Colmar arrondissements were changed to Thann-Guebwiller and Colmar-Ribeauvillé.

Geography of Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin is the smaller of the two departments that used to make up the Alsace region. It's also less populated. It is located in the Grand Est region of France.

Borders and Neighbors

Haut-Rhin shares its borders with three other departments in France:

• In the Grand Est region:
  • Bas-Rhin to the north.
  • Vosges to the west and northwest.
• In the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region:
  • Territoire de Belfort to the southwest.

To the east, the department borders Germany along the Rhine river. To the south, it borders Switzerland.

	Vosges	Bas-Rhin
	Vosges		Germany
		Haut-Rhin
	Territoire de Belfort	Switzerland

Mountains and Rivers

Haut-Rhin covers an area of about 3,525.2 square kilometers (1,361.1 sq mi). Its highest point is a mountain called Grand Ballon. It's part of the Vosges Mountains and is 1,424 meters (4,672 ft) high. The lowest point in the department is 179 meters (587 ft) high, found along the Rhine river.

The main river in Haut-Rhin is the Rhine. It forms the eastern border of the department and also part of the border of France.

Climate in Haut-Rhin

The area around Colmar has a climate with mild temperatures. It's known as a "Marine West Coast Climate." This means it doesn't get too hot or too cold.

The average rainfall in Strasbourg, a nearby city, is about 594.4 millimeters (23.4 in) per year. June usually has the most rain, with about 71.1 millimeters (2.8 in). February is the driest month, with only about 33 millimeters (1.3 in) of rain.

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

How Haut-Rhin is Managed

Haut-Rhin is run by the Departmental Council of Haut-Rhin. This council is located in Colmar. The department is also part of the larger Grand Est region.

Administrative Divisions

Haut-Rhin is divided into smaller administrative areas. These include:

• 4 arrondissements (districts)
• 17 cantons (smaller groups of towns)
• 366 communes (individual towns or municipalities)

Here are the arrondissements of Haut-Rhin:

Here are the 17 cantons of the Haut-Rhin department, updated in March 2015:

Population of Haut-Rhin

People who live in the Haut-Rhin department are called Haut-Rhinois (for men) or Haut-Rhinoises (for women) in French.

In 2014, Haut-Rhin had a population of 760,134 people. This means there were about 215.6 people per square kilometer (558 people per sq mi). The arrondissement of Mulhouse is the most populated, with 350,032 residents.

Population Changes Over Time

The number of people living in Haut-Rhin has grown steadily over the years.

Evolution of the population in Haut-Rhin

Largest Towns in Haut-Rhin

Here are the 10 towns (communes) in Haut-Rhin with the most people, based on 2014 data:

Gallery

• 

  Mulhouse, old town hall.

• 

  Colmar's old town.

• 

  Historic centre of Altkirch.

• 

  The Grand Ballon, southern side.

• 

  Hunawihr and its vineyards.

Images for kids

• 

  Riquewihr

• 

  View from the Ballon d'Alsace

Related pages

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

See also

In Spanish: Alto Rin para niños