Strasbourg
Overview
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace
region
in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament
. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin
département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking, explaining the city's Germanic
name. In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community
467,375 inhabitants. With 638,670 inhabitants in 2006, Strasbourg's metropolitan area (aire urbaine) (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France.
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament
Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg
The city of Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament. The institution is legally bound to meet there twelve sessions a year lasting about four days each. Other work takes place in Brussels and Luxembourg City...
. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking, explaining the city's Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
name. In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community
Urban Community of Strasbourg
The Urban Community of Strasbourg , also known by its French initials CUS, is the intercommunal structure gathering the city of Strasbourg and some of its suburbs....
467,375 inhabitants. With 638,670 inhabitants in 2006, Strasbourg's metropolitan area (aire urbaine) (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France.
