Sundgau | |
---|---|
Land Area | 663 km2 |
Population | 61 841 inhabitants (1999) |
Capital | Altkirch |
Cantons | 4 |
Communes | 112 |
Sundgau (French pronunciation: [suŋɡo][1][2] or [syŋɡo];[3][4] German: [ˈzʊntɡaʊ]) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German Sunt-gowe ("South shire"), denoting an Alemannic county in the Old High German period. The principal city and historical capital is Altkirch.
The considerably smaller French pays of Sundgau, implemented by the 1999 Loi Voynet, roughly corresponds to the arrondissement of Altkirch, comprising four cantons and 112 communes in the south of the larger Sundgau region.