Between the Vosges and the Rhine, at the gates of Germany and Switzerland, the Haut-Rhin has an outstandingly rich heritage, extremely varied scenery and internationally renowned gastronomy.

 The département was created during the French Revolution, on March 4^th 1790 by application of the law of December 22^nd 1789 on the southern half of the province of Alsace (Haute-Alsace).

Its boundaries were modified many times:

• 1798, it absorbed Mullhouse, formerly a free city, and the last Swiss encalves 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 returned to France (Treaty of Versailles) but is still separated from Belfort.

 There is an astoundingly wide range of activities to discover, which include hiking, mountain biking, playing golf, museums, theatres, walks around small flowery villages with half-timbered houses; trips to savour Alsace's many culinary specialties and wines.

  Colmar is one of the best-preserved towns in Alsace and is the Capital of the Haut-Rhin department. Its canal quarter - where wine merchants once shipped their wares - known as Petite Venise is best enjoyed on a leisurely boat trip that starts from the tanners’ quarters. But the jewel in the city’s crown is the Issenheim altarpiece set in the Musée d’Unterlinden, once a Dominican monastery, consisting of a series of early Alsatian 16th century panel paintings.  Colmar also has a sunny microclimate; it is the driest city in France, with an annual precipitation of just 550 mm, making it ideal for Alsace wine.