Haut-Rhin

Alsace
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History Alemanni Germania Superior Alamannia Duchy of Alsace Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg Landgraviate of Alsace Lower Alsace Upper Alsace Décapole Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine Gau Baden-Elsaß Alsace Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Culture Coat of arms Flag Anthem People Language Demographics Musée alsacien
Religion Concordat in Alsace-Moselle (1801): (including Lorraine) Roman Catholicism: (Immediately subject to the Holy See) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (Lorraine: Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz) Lutheranism: Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine Calvinism: Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine Jewish consistories: Strasbourg Colmar (Lorraine: Metz)
Law Local law in Alsace-Moselle Concordat in Alsace-Moselle
Administrative divisions Capital: Strasbourg Bas-Rhin (Unterelsaß) Arrondissement of Haguenau-Wissembourg Arrondissement of Molsheim Arrondissement of Saverne Arrondissement of Sélestat-Erstein Arrondissement of Strasbourg Haut-Rhin (Oberelsaß) Arrondissement of Altkirch Arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé Arrondissement of Mulhouse Arrondissement of Thann-Guebwiller
Politics Alsace Regional Council Representation in France Alsace independence movement
Alsace in the EU European Parliament elections Constituency
Related topics Politics of France Politics of Germany Politics of the European Union
Alsace portal

Haut-Rhin (French pronunciation: [oʁɛ̃]; Alsatian: Owerelsàss) (German: Oberelsass, Hoch-Rhein) is a department in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region of France, named after the Rhine river. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departments of the traditional Alsace region, although it is still densely populated compared to the rest of France.

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:

1798, it absorbed Mulhouse, formerly a free city, and the last Swiss enclave in the south of Alsace;
1800, it absorbed the whole département of Mont-Terrible;
1814, it lost the territories which had been part of Mont-Terrible, which were returned to Switzerland, except for the old principality of Montbéliard;
1816, it lost Montbéliard, which was transferred to the département of Doubs;
1871, it was mostly annexed by Germany (Treaty of Frankfurt). The remaining French part formed the Territoire de Belfort in 1922;
1919, it was reverted to France (Treaty of Versailles) but remains administratively separated from Belfort.
1940, it was annexed de facto by Nazi Germany.
1944, it was recovered by France.

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 River Rhine. In the centre of the département lies a fertile plain. The climate is semi-continental.

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.

Tourism

Culture

Alsatian language

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Haut-Rhin.

(French) General Council website
(French) Prefecture website
(English) Haut-Rhin at DMOZ

Departments of France

Overseas departments: 971 Guadeloupe; 972 Martinique; 973 French Guiana; 974 Réunion; 976 Mayotte

Metropoles with territorial collectivity statute: 69M Métropole de Lyon

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.