Altkirch

Altkirch is a commune in Alsace in north-eastern France, in the Haut-Rhin department, of which it is a subprefecture. It is in the Grand Est region. Its name comes from the German Alte Kirche ("old church").

Altkirch
Subprefecture and commune
Historic centre of Altkirch.
Coat of arms
Location of Altkirch
Altkirch Show map of France Altkirch Show map of Grand Est
Coordinates: 47°37′N 7°14′E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Haut-Rhin
Arrondissement	Altkirch
Canton	Altkirch
Intercommunality	Altkirch et Environs
Government
• Mayor (2017-2020)	Nicolas Jander
Area 1	9.54 km2 (3.68 sq mi)
Population  (2014)	5,738
• Density	600/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Demonym	Altkirchois
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	68004 /68130
Elevation	274–392 m (899–1,286 ft) (avg. 333 m or 1,093 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Altkirch is in the south of the Haut-Rhin department. The Ill river, a left tributary of the Rhine river, flows through the commune.

It has an area of 9.5 km² (3.7 sq mi).^[1] Its average altitude is 333 m (1,093 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 290 m (950 ft).^[2]

The distances from Altkirch to other cities are:

• Paris, the national capital - 538 km (334 mi);
• Strasbourg, the regional capital - 137 km (85 mi);
• Marseille - 694 km (431 mi);
• Lyon - 384 km (239 mi);
• Reims - 428 km (266 mi);
• Bordeaux - 860 km (530 mi);
• Toulouse - 919 km (571 mi);
• Montpellier - 680 km (420 mi);
• Nice - 680 km (420 mi).

Altkirch and its neighboring communes

The commune of Altkirch is surrounded by the communes:

Climate

The climate of Altkirch, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.

Population

The inhabitants of Altkirch are known, in French, as Altkirchois (women: Altkirchoises).^[3]

With a population of 5,738,^[4] Altkirch has a population density of 601 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Altkirch

Administration

Altkirch is a subprefecture in the Haut-Rhin department since 1800. It is the capital of the Altkirch arrondissement and is also the administrative centre (French: chef-lieu) of the canton of Altkirch formed by 64 communes, with 47,552 inhabitants (2014).^[5]

Twin towns

Altkirch is twinned with:

• Le Thor, France, since 1991
• San Daniele del Friuli, Italy, since 1994
• Füzuli, Azerbaijan, since 2016

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view of Altkirch.
• 
  Town hall of Altkirch.
• 
  Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church.
• 
  Synagogue of Altkirch.
• 
  Protestant temple of Altkirch.

Related pages

• Arrondissement of Altkirch
• Communes of the Haut-Rhin department