Haute-Savoie

**Haute-Savoie** is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, bordering Switzerland and Italy.

## Name

Before 1860, the territory of the modern Haute-Savoie and Savoie departments had been part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, as a Duchy, since 1713. Annexation of the region by France was made in 1860. In that year, the Emperor Napoléon III divided the territory in two departments: _Savoie_, to the south, with the city of Chambéry, and _Haute-Savoie_, to the north, with the city of Annecy.

_Haute_ ("High") in the name Haute-Savoie is not because of the altitude but because of its position, to the north, in the territory.

## History

The department of Haute-Savoie was created in 1860 from the northern part of the Duchy of Sardinia with four _arrondissements_: Annecy, Bonneville, Saint-Julien and Thonon. The capital was Annecy.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissement_ of Saint-Julien was eliminated but became again an arrondissement in 1933.

During World War II, the department was occupied by the fascist Italy, from November 1942 to September 1943.

## Geography

The Haute-Savoie is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of .

The department borders with the Ain and Savoie departments, both in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and with Switzerland and Italy.

In the territory of the department is a part of the _Mont Bl_der with Italy. The average altitude of the department is of about . The highest point in the department is  _Mont Blanc_ (; it is  high, the highest point of France, Italy and of Western Europe.

The Haute-Savoie department is within the watershed of the Rhône river but with short rivers. There are two important lakes in the department: the Lake Geneva, shared with Switzerland, and the Lake Annecy.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Annecy is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype **Cfb**.

## Administration

Haute-Savoie is managed by the _Departmental_

_of Haute-Savoie_ in Annecy. The department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 4 _arrondissements_ (districts), 17 _cantons_ and 281 _communes_ (municipalities) in Haute-Savoie.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|741|Annecy|Annecy|276,382|1,261.6||80|
|742|Bonneville|Bonneville|184,093|1,558.2||61|
|743|Saint-Julien-en-Genevois|Saint-Julien-en-Genevois|180,562|660.3||72|
|744|Thonon-les-Bains|Thonon-les-Bains|142,090|907.7||68|

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Haute-Savoie department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Annecy-1 <small>(7401)</small>
1. Annecy-2 <small>(7402)</small>
1. Annecy-le-Vieux <small>(7403)</small>
1. Annemasse <small>(7404)</small>
1. Bonneville <small>(7405)</small>
1. Cluses <small>(7406)</small>
1. Évian-les-Bains <small>(7407)</small>
1. Faverges <small>(7408)</small>
1. Gaillard <small>(7409)</small>
1. Le Mont-Blanc <small>(7410)</small>
1. La Roche-sur-Foron <small>(7411)</small>
1. Rumilly <small>(7412)</small>
1. Saint-Julien-en-Genevois <small>(7413)</small>
1. Sallanches <small>(7414)</small>
1. Sciez <small>(7415)</small>
1. Seynod <small>(7416)</small>
1. Thonon-les-Bains <small>(7417)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Haute-Savoie are known, in French, as _Haut-Savoyards_ (women: _Haut-Savoyardes_).

Haute-Savoie had a population, in 2014, of 783,127, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Annecy, with 276,382 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Haute-Savoie**

The _communes_ in the department with more inhabitants are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Annecy|53,285|Annecy|
|Thonon-les-Bains|34,973|Thonon-les-Bains|
|Annemasse|34,953|Saint-Julien-en-Genevois|
|Seynod|20,955|Annecy|
|Annecy-le-Vieux|20,469|Annecy|
|Cluses|17,510|Bonneville|
|Cran-Gevrier|17,257|Annecy|
|Sallanches|15,754|Bonneville|
|Rumilly|14,836|Annecy|
|Saint-Julien-en-Genevois|13,253|Saint-Julien-en-Genevois|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Haute-Savoie department
- Communes of the Haute-Savoie department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Upper Savoy
- **native name**: Haute-Savoie
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Préfecture Annecy.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Haute-Savoie department, in Annecy
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Haute-Savoie department, in Annecy
- **image flag**: Flag of Savoie.svg
- **image shield**: Blason duché fr Savoie.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Haute-Savoie-Position.svg
- **map alt**: Location of Haute-Savoie in France
- **map caption**: Location of Haute-Savoie in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 1860
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Annecy
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Bonneville, Haute-Savoie, Bonneville
- **p2**: Saint-Julien-en-Genevois
- **p3**: Thonon-les-Bains
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Christian Montei
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 4387.8
- **population total**: 783127
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Haut-Savoyards
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 4
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 17
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 281
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-74
- **website**: [http://www.hautesavoie.fr/ www.hautesavoie.fr]