Title: Haut-Rhin Content: Haut-Rhin is a department in the Grand Est region of France. Its name means Upper Rhine. The Rhine river is Haut-Rhin's eastern border. The prefecture (capital) of Haut-Rhin is Colmar. ==History== 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. ==Geography== 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 . Its highest point is Grand Ballon  in the Vosges Mountains, in the eastern part of the department; it is high. The lowest point is 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 , 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 . The month with the most precipitation on average is June with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of . The average temperature for the year in Strasbourg is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of . ==Administration== 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.  ==Gallery== File:Mulhouse - Town hall.jpg|Mulhouse, old town hall. File:Colmar - Alsace.jpg|Colmar's old town. File:Altkirch1.jpg|Historic centre of Altkirch. File:Grandballonsud.jpg|The Grand Ballon, southern side. File:Hunawihr1P7.jpg|Hunawihr and its vineyards. ==Related pages== * Arrondissements of the Haut-Rhin department * Communes of the Haut-Rhin department