Bas-Rhin

**Bas-Rhin** (<small>French pronunciation:</small> [bɑ.ʁɛ̃]; Alsatian: _Unterelsàss_, _‘s Unterlànd_ or _‘s Ingerlànd_; traditional German: _Niederrhein_; English: Lower Rhine) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Rhine river that flows along its eastern border. The prefecture (capital) of Bas-Rhin is Strasbourg.

Bas-Rhin means "Lower Rhine", however, geographically speaking it belongs to the _Upper Rhine_ region. This is the last French department to have kept the term _Bas_, meaning "Lower", in its name. Other departments using this word preferred to change their names.

## History

Bas-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was divided in four districts: Haguenau, Benfeld, Strasbourg and Wissembourg, with Strasbourg as is capital. Soon, the district of Sarre-Union was created and the name of the district of Benfeld was changed to Sélestat (in its origins, Schlettstadt).

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the five districts were changed into four _arrondissements_: Strasbourg, Barr, Saverne and Wissembourg. The subprefecture of Barr was moved to Schlestadt (Sélestat) in 1806.

The Bas-Rhin department was eliminated in 1871 when the territory became part of Germany.

In 1919, Bas-Rhin is again an department when the territory became part of France with the _arrondissements_ Strasbourg-Ville, Strasbourg-Campagne, Erstein, Haguenau, Molsheim, Saverne, Sélestat and Wissembourg.

The _arrondissements_ Sélestat and Erstein were combined in 1974 to form the _arrondissement_ of Sélestat-Erstein.

In 2015, the _arrondissements_ Strasbourg-Campagne and Wissembourg were eliminated and their territories passed to the remaining _arrondissements_, and only 5 were kept: Haguenau-Wissembourg, Molsheim, Saverne, Sélestat-Erstein and Strasbourg.

## Geography

The Bas-Rhin department is in the Grand Est region and borders 5 departments, all in the Grand Est region: Haut-Rhin to the south, Vosges to the southwest, Meurthe-et-Moselle to the west and Moselle to the northwest. To the north and east, the department borders Germany along the Rhine river.

Bas-Rhin has an area of . Its highest point is ***Champ de Feu*** () in the southwestern part of the department; it is  high.

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

### Climate

The area around Strasbourg, at an altitude of about , is characterized by climates with 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 July 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 .

<div style="width:80%;">

</div>

## Administration

Bas-Rhin is managed by the _Departmental Council of Bas-Rhin_ in Strasbourg. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 5 _arrondissements_ (districts), 23 _cantons_ and 517 _communes_ (municipalities) in Bas-Rhin.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population (2014) !! width="50px" | Area (km²) !! Density (Inh./km²) !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|672|Haguenau-Wissembourg|Haguenau|240,402|1,421.9||142|
|673|Molsheim|Molsheim|103,068|771.2||77|
|674|Saverne|Saverne|129,272|1,243.8||164|
|675|Sélestat-Erstein|Sélestat|155,916|980.5||101|
|678|Strasbourg|Strasbourg|484,157|337.6||33|

The following is a list of the 23 cantons of the Bas-Rhin department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Bischwiller <small>(6701)</small>
1. Bouxwiller <small>(6702)</small>
1. Brumath <small>(6703)</small>
1. Erstein <small>(6704)</small>
1. Haguenau <small>(6705)</small>
1. Hœnheim <small>(6706)</small>
1. Illkirch-Graffenstaden <small>(6707)</small>
1. Ingwiller <small>(6708)</small>
1. Lingolsheim <small>(6709)</small>
1. Molsheim <small>(6710)</small>
1. Mutzig <small>(6711)</small>
1. Obernai <small>(6712)</small>
1. Reichshoffen <small>(6713)</small>
1. Saverne <small>(6714)</small>
1. Schiltigheim <small>(6715)</small>
1. Sélestat <small>(6716)</small>
1. Strasbourg-1 <small>(6717)</small>
1. Strasbourg-2 <small>(6718)</small>
1. Strasbourg-3 <small>(6719)</small>
1. Strasbourg-4 <small>(6720)</small>
1. Strasbourg-5 <small>(6721)</small>
1. Strasbourg-6 <small>(6722)</small>
1. Wissembourg <small>(6723)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of the Bas-Rhin department are known, in French, as _Bas-Rhinois_ or (women: _Bas-Rhinoises_),

Bas-Rhin had a population, in 2014, of 1,112,815, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Strasbourg, with 484,157 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Bas-Rhin**

The 10 _communes_ with more inhabitants in the Bas-Rhin department are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Strasbourg|276,170|Strasbourg|
|Haguenau|34,761|Haguenau-Wissembourg|
|Schiltigheim|31,610|Strasbourg|
|Illkirch-Graffenstaden|26,949|Strasbourg|
|Sélestat|19,546|Sélestat-Erstein|
|Lingolsheim|17,622|Strasbourg|
|Bischheim|17,229|Strasbourg|
|Bischwiller|12,559|Haguenau-Wissembourg|
|Ostwald|11,997|Strasbourg|
|Saverne|11,433|Saverne|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Bas-Rhin department
- Communes of the Bas-Rhin department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Bas-Rhin
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Strasbourg-Préfecture.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture]building of the Bas-Rhin department, in Strasbourg
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Bas-Rhin department, in Strasbourg
- **image flag**: Flag of Basse-Alsace.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Bas-Rhin.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Bas-Rhin-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Bas-Rhin in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Grand Est
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Strasbourg
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Haguenau
- **p2**: Molsheim
- **p3**: Saverne
- **p4**: Sélestat
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Frédéric Bierry
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 4755
- **population total**: 1112815
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 5
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 23
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 517
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-67