Colmar

Colmar is a commune in Alsace in north-eastern France, in the Haut-Rhin department, of which it is a prefecture. It is in the Grand Est region.

Geography
Colmar is in the north of the Haut-Rhin department. It is in the plain of Alsace, to the east of the Vosgues mountains. The Lauch river, a tributary of the Ill river, flows through the commune.

It has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The distances from Colmar to other cities are:
 Paris, the national capital - ;
 Strasbourg, the regional capital - ;
 Marseille - ;
 Lyon - ;
 Reims - ;
 Bordeaux - ;
 Toulouse - ;
 Montpellier - ;
 Nice - .

+ Colmar and its neighboring communes 350px|Map of the commune of Colmar

The commune of Altkirch is surrounded by the following communes:

Climate
The area around Colmar, at an altitude of about , is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Colmar is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Colmar 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 Colmar 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 .

Population
The inhabitants of Colmar are known, in French, as Colmariens (women: Colmariennes).

With a population of 68,784, Colmar has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Colmar

Colmar forms, together with 6 other communes, the urban area of Colmar with a population of 93,858 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Colmar, formed by 39 communes with a population of 129,678 inhabitants and an area of .

Administration
Colmar is the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department since 1800. It is the capital of the Colmar-Ribeauvillé arrondissement and is also the administrative centre () of 2 cantons:
 Colmar-1, formed with a part of Colmar and the commune Ingersheim, with 44,524 inhabitants (2014).
 Colmar-2, formed with a part of Colmar and 12 communes, with 51,221 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality Colmar Agglomération.

 Twin towns 
Colmar is twinned with:
  Schongau, Bavaria, Germany
  Lucca, Italy
  Princeton, United States
  Győr, Hungary
  Eisenstadt, Austria
  Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
  Vale of White Horse, United Kingdom

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé
 Communes of the Haut-Rhin department

References

Other websites

 Ville de Colmar - Official site 
 Ville de Colmar - Colmar Alsace France Tourist Office