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 - .

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 .

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

**Evolution of the population in Colmar**

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 bar:2006 at: 65713 fontsize:S text: 65,713 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2014 at: 68784 fontsize:S text: 68,784 shift:(-15,5)

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

File:ColmarFrance.jpg|The *Little Venice* neighbourhood, Colmar.
File:Colmar-Petite Venise (3).jpg|The Lauch river flows through the *Little Venice*, Colmar.
File:Fontainebruat.JPG|Fountain in the *Parc du Champs de Mars*.
File:Hôtel de ville de Colmar.jpg|Town hall of Colmar.
File:FR Colmar 20080828 027.jpg|*Rue des Clés* street, Colmar.

## 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