Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin (French pronunciation: ​[oʁɛ̃]; Alsatian: Owerelsàss or ‘s Iwerlànd[2]; German: Oberelsass) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the river Rhine. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departments of the former administrative Alsace region, the other being the Bas Rhin (Lower Rhine). Especially after the 1871 cession of the southern territory known since 1922 as Territoire de Belfort, although it is still densely populated compared to the rest of metropolitan France.

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
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
PrefectureColmar
SubprefecturesAltkirch
Mulhouse
Thann
Government
 • President of the General CouncilCharles Buttner (UMP)
Area
 • Total3,525 km2 (1,361 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total764,030[1]
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number68
Arrondissements4
Cantons17
Communes366
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2
Part of the series on
Alsace
Rot un Wiss, traditional flag of Alsace

On 1 January 2021, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin will merge into the European Collectivity of Alsace.

Subdivisions

The department consists of the following arrondissements:

History

Haut-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments, created during the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790 through the application of the law of 22 December 1789 in respect of the southern half of the province of Alsace (Haute-Alsace).

Its boundaries have been modified many times:

Geography

Haut-Rhin is bordered by the Territoire de Belfort and Vosges départements and the Vosges Mountains to the west, the Bas-Rhin département to the North, Switzerland to the south and its eastern border with Germany is also the Rhine. In the centre of the département lies a fertile plain. The climate is semi-continental.

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801272,334—    
1806299,877+1.95%
1821326,633+0.57%
1831375,473+1.40%
1841409,683+0.88%
1851436,744+0.64%
1861459,554+0.51%
1871458,873−0.01%
1880461,942+0.07%
1890471,609+0.21%
1900495,209+0.49%
1910517,865+0.45%
1921468,943−0.90%
1931516,726+0.98%
1936507,551−0.36%
1946471,705−0.73%
1954509,647+0.97%
1962547,920+0.91%
1968585,018+1.10%
1975635,209+1.18%
1982650,372+0.34%
1990671,319+0.40%
1999708,025+0.59%
2006736,475+0.56%
2016762,743+0.35%
source:[3]

Economy

Haut-Rhin is one of the richest French départements. Mulhouse is the home of a Peugeot automobile factory, manufacturing the 106 and 206 models. The lowest unemployment rate in France can be found in the Southern Sundgau region (approximately 2%). The countryside is marked by hills. Many Haut-Rhinois work in Switzerland, especially in the chemical industries of Basel, but commute from France where living costs are lower.

Law

Alsace and the adjacent Moselle department have a legal system slightly different from the rest of France. The statutes in question date from the period 1871 - 1919 when the area was part of the German Empire. With the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France in 1919, Paris accepted that Alsace and Moselle should retain some local laws in respect of certain matters, especially with regard to hunting, economic life, local government relationships, health insurance and social rights. It includes notably the absence of any formal separation between church and state: several mainstream denominations of the Christian church benefit from state funding, in contrast to principles applied in the rest of France.

Politics

Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMember[4]Party
Haut-Rhin's 1st constituency Éric Straumann The Republicans
Haut-Rhin's 2nd constituency Jacques Cattin The Republicans
Haut-Rhin's 3rd constituency Jean-Luc Reitzer The Republicans
Haut-Rhin's 4th constituency Raphaël Schellenberger The Republicans
Haut-Rhin's 5th constituency Olivier Becht Agir
Haut-Rhin's 6th constituency Bruno Fuchs La République En Marche!

Tourism

Culture
  • Alsatian language
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See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  2. Office pour la Langue et la Culture d’Alsace. "Wàs brücht m'r im Elsàss ? Petit lexique français-alsacien" (PDF). oclalsace.org (in French). Retrieved 10 December 2013..
  3. Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France
  4. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/
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