is
''département'' of France, named after the
Rhine river. Its name means ''upper Rhine''.
The department consists of the following ''
Arrondissements '':
Haut-Rhin is one of the original 83 ''département'', created during the
French Revolution , on
March 4 ,
1790 by application of the law of
December 22 ,
1789 on the southern half of the
Province of
Alsace (
Haute-Alsace ).
Its boundaries have been modified many times:
- 1798 , it absorbed Mulhouse , formerly a Free City , and the last Swiss Enclave in the south;
- 1800 , it absorbed the whole ''département'' of Mont-Terrible ;
- 1814 , it lost the territories which had been part of Mont-Terrible , returned to Switzerland , except the old principality of Montbéliard ;
- 1816 , it lost Montbéliard, which was attached to the ''département'' of Doubs ;
- 1871 , it was mostly annexed by Germany ( Treaty Of Frankfurt ). The remaining French part formed the Territoire De Belfort ;
- 1919 , it was reverted to France ( Treaty Of Versailles ) but is still separated from Belfort .
- 1940 , it was effectively annexed by Nazi Germany .
- 1944 , it was captured by France.
Haut-Rhin is bordered by the
Territoire De Belfort and
Vosges ''départements'' and the
Vosges Mountains to the west, the
Bas-Rhin ''département'' to the North, Switzerland to the south and its eastern border with Germany is also the River
Rhine . In the centre of the ''département'' lies a fertile plain. The climate is semi-continental.
Haut-Rhin is one of the richest French ''département''.
Mulhouse is the home of a
Peugeot automobile factory, manufacturing the 106 and 206 models. The lowest unemployment rate in France can be found in the Southern Sundgau region (approximately 2%). The countryside is marked by hills. Many ''Haut-Rhinois'' work in Switzerland, especially in the chemical industries of
Basel , but prefer to live in France for its cheaper cost of living.
