High Rhine in the context of "Lower Rhine"

The Jura Mountains (/ˈdʒʊərə, ˈʒʊərə/ JOOR-ə, ZHOOR-ə) are a sub-alpine mountain range, a short distance north of the Western Alps, and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper ("folded Jura", Faltenjura) is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues northeastwards through northern Switzerland and Germany as the Table Jura ("not folded Jura", Tafeljura), which is crossed by the High Rhine.

Switzerland has 9 million inhabitants, as of June 2024. Its population quadrupled over the period 1800 to 1990 (average doubling time 95 years). Population growth was steepest in the period after World War II (1.4% per annum during 1950–1970, doubling time 50 years), it slowed during the 1970s and 1980s but has since increased to 1% during the 2000s (doubling time 70 years).

More than 75% of the population live in the central plain, which stretches between the Alps and the Jura Mountains and from Geneva in the southwest to the High Rhine and Lake Constance in the northeast.

Basel (/ˈbɑːzəl/ BAH-zəl; Swiss Standard German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ), also known as Basle (/bɑːl/ BAHL), is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits.

Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland, the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. It is the hometown of Art Basel, the world's most prestigious and influential international art fair, showcasing modern and contemporary works from leading galleries and attracting top collectors, artists, and enthusiasts globally.

Lake Constance (German: Bodensee, pronounced [ˈboːdn̩zeː] ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (Obersee), Lower Lake Constance (Untersee), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (lit. 'Rhine of the lake(s)'). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin (Bodenseebecken) in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows. The nearby Mindelsee is not considered part of Lake Constance.The lake is situated where Germany, Switzerland, and Austria meet. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria; the Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, Thurgau, and Schaffhausen; and the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The actual locations of the country borders within the lake are disputed, with Austria, Germany and Switzerland all holding different opinions on the matter.

The Alpine Rhine forms, in its original course (Alter Rhein), the Austro-Swiss border and flows into the lake from the south. The High Rhine flows westbound out of the lake and forms (with the exception of the Canton of Schaffhausen, Rafzerfeld and Basel-Stadt) the German-Swiss border as far as to the city of Basel. The Leiblach forms the Austria–Germany border east of the lake.

The border between the modern states of Germany and Switzerland extends to 362 kilometres (225 mi), mostly following Lake Constance and the High Rhine (Hochrhein), with territories to the north mostly belonging to Germany and territories to the south mainly to Switzerland. Exceptions are the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, the Rafzerfeld and hamlet of Nohl of the canton of Zürich, Bettingen and Riehen municipalities and part of the city of Basel in the canton of Basel-City (these regions of Switzerland all lie north of the High Rhine) and the old town of the German city of Konstanz, which is located south of the Seerhein. The canton of Schaffhausen is located almost entirely on the northern side of the High Rhine, with the exception of the southern part of the municipality of Stein am Rhein. The German municipality of Büsingen am Hochrhein is an enclave surrounded by Swiss territory.

Rheinau (German pronunciation: [ˈʁaɪnaʊ]) is a municipality in the district of Andelfingen in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. It is located at a bend of the High Rhine, which forms the Swiss-German border in this area, and includes an island with an abbey. A bridge built in 1806 [de] links Rheinau to Altenburg, part of the municipality of Jestetten (Baden-Württemberg).

Stein am Rhein (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈʃtaɪn am ˈraɪn], lit. 'Stein on the Rhine'; abbreviated as Stein a. R.) is a historic town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. It is located at the outfall of Lower Lake Constance on the High Rhine river, about halfway between the town of Schaffhausen and the city of Konstanz.

The town's medieval centre retains the ancient street plan. The site of the city wall, and the city gates are preserved, though the former city wall now consists of houses. The medieval part of the town has been pedestrianised and many of the medieval buildings are painted with frescoes.

Rheinfelden (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈraɪnˌfɛldn̩] ; Alemannic German: Rhyfälde [ˈriːfæld̥ə]) is a municipality in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, seat of the district of Rheinfelden. It is located 15 kilometres east of Basel. The name means the fields of the Rhine, as the town is located on the High Rhine. It is home to Feldschlösschen, the most popular beer in Switzerland. The city is across the river from Rheinfelden in Baden-Württemberg; the two cities were joined until Napoleon Bonaparte fixed the Germany–Switzerland border on the Rhine in 1802 and are still socially and economically tied.

Schaffhausen (Swiss Standard German: [ʃafˈhaʊzn̩] ; Alemannic German: Schafuuse; French: Schaffhouse [ʃa.fuz]; Italian: Sciaffusa; Romansh: Schaffusa), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 36,000 as of December 2016. It is located right next to the shore of the High Rhine; it is one of four Swiss towns located entirely on the northern side of the Rhine, along with Neuhausen am Rheinfall, the historic Neunkirch, and medieval Stein am Rhein.

The old town has many fine Renaissance era buildings decorated with exterior frescos and sculpture, as well as the old canton fortress, the Munot above the old town. Schaffhausen railway station is a junction of Swiss and German railway lines. One of the lines connects the town with the nearby Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Europe's largest waterfall and a popular tourist attraction.