European Collectivity of Alsace in the context of "German language"

Bas-Rhin (French pronunciation: [bɑ ʁɛ̃] ) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) department. Both belong to the European Upper Rhine region. It is, with the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine), one of the two departments of the traditional Alsace region which until 1871, also included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort. The more populous and densely populated of the pair, it had 1,152,662 inhabitants in 2021. The prefecture is based in Strasbourg. The INSEE and Post Code is 67.

On 1 January 2021, the departemental councils of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin merged into the European Collectivity of Alsace.

Haut-Rhin (French pronunciation: [oʁɛ̃] ) is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departments of the former administrative Alsace region, the other being Bas-Rhin (Lower Rhine), especially after the 1871 cession of the southern territory known since 1922 as the Territoire de Belfort, although it is still rather densely populated compared to the rest of metropolitan France. It had a population of 767,083 in 2021.

On 1 January 2021, the départemental collectivities of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin were merged into the European Collectivity of Alsace.

Alsace is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,919,745. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of German and French influences.

Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part. From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative région in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments. Territorial reform passed by the French Parliament in 2014 resulted in the merger of the Alsace administrative region with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine to form Grand Est. On 1 January 2021, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin merged into the new European Collectivity of Alsace but remained part of the region Grand Est.

The Territoire de Belfort (French pronunciation: [tɛʁitwaʁ də bɛlfɔʁ] ; lit. "Territory of Belfort") is a department in the northeastern French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. In 2020, the population was 140,120. The department, which spans a relatively small surface area of 609.4 km (235.3 sq mi), is situated just southwest of the European Collectivity of Alsace. It also shares a border with the Swiss canton of Jura to the southeast. Its prefecture is Belfort.

Mulhouse (/məˈluːz/ mə-LOOZ, French: [myluz] ; Alsatian: Mìlhüsa [mɪlˈhyːsa]; German: Mülhausen [myːlˈhaʊzn̩] , meaning "mill house") is a French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the border with Switzerland and Germany. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace after Strasbourg.

Mulhouse is known for its museums, especially the Cité de l'Automobile (also known as the Musée national de l'automobile, 'National Museum of the Automobile') and the Cité du Train (also known as Musée Français du Chemin de Fer, 'French Museum of the Railway'), respectively the largest automobile and railway museums in the world. An industrial town nicknamed "the French Manchester", Mulhouse is also the main seat of the Upper Alsace University, where the secretariat of the European Physical Society is found.