Altkirch
{{Short description|Subprefecture and commune in Grand Est, France}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name = Altkirch
|native name = {{native name|gsw|Àltkìrech}}
|commune status = Subprefecture and commune
|image = Altkirch1.jpg
|image flag = Flag of Altkirch.gif
|caption = The historic centre of Altkirch
|image coat of arms = Blason Altkirch France Haut-Rhin.svg
|arrondissement = Altkirch
|canton = Altkirch
|INSEE = 68004
|postal code = 68130
|term = 2020–2026
|intercommunality = CC Sundgau
|coordinates = {{coord|47.62|7.24|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m = 310
|elevation min m = 274
|elevation max m = 392
|area km2 = 9.54
|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|dialling code = 0389
}}
Altkirch ({{IPA|fr|altkiʁʃ|lang|Fr-Altkirch.ogg}}, {{IPA|de|ˈaltkɪʁç|lang}}; {{langx|gsw|label=Alsatian|Àltkìrech}}) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.[https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/68004-altkirch INSEE commune file]
The town is traditionally regarded as the capital of Sundgau.
Etymology
The name of the commune means old church ({{langx|gsw-FR|Àlta Kìrch}} or Àlta Kìrech; {{langx|de|Alte Kirche}}).
History
In the 1370s, the citizens of Altkirch battled and won against a company of Gugler mercenaries.{{Cite book |last=Tuchman |first=Barbara Wertheim |url=http://archive.org/details/distantmirrorcal00tuch |title=A distant mirror : the calamitous 14th century |date=1978 |publisher=New York : Knopf |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-394-40026-6 |pages=280 |language=en}}
Demography
Its inhabitants are known as Altkirchois.
The resident population number of 5500 is rather deceptive as some 15,500 people will be in town on a typical working day (4500 working, 3000 studying, 3000 for medical treatment and another 5000 divided between shopping, administrative offices, cultural and sporting activities).
{{Historical populations
| source = INSEE[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-68004#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
| percentages = pagr
| align = none
|1968 |5118
|1975 |5319
|1982 |5268
|1990 |5090
|1999 |5386
|2007 |5644
|2012 |5747
|2017 |5737
}}
Sister cities
- Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh) Füzuli (2016)
See also
- Château d'Altkirch - destroyed castle in the town.
- Communes of the Haut-Rhin department
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Altkirch}}
- [http://www.altkirch.net Altkirch and Sundgau Community] {{in lang|fr}}
- [http://www.meteo.fr/meteonet/meteo/pcv/cdm/dept68/cdm.htm Weather in Haut-Rhin] {{in lang|fr}}
- [http://www.alsace-passion.com/altkirch_1.htm Photographic visit to Altkirch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422003002/http://www.alsace-passion.com/altkirch_1.htm |date=2015-04-22 }} {{in lang|fr}}
- [http://www.cracalsace.com/ Rhenish centre for Contemporary Art] {{in lang|fr}}
{{Haut-Rhin communes}}
{{Authority control}}