Munster, Haut-Rhin

Munster
Munster
	Protestant Church
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Munster
	Location within Alsace region Munster
	Coordinates: 48°02′N 7°08′E / 48.04°N 7.13°ECoordinates: 48°02′N 7°08′E / 48.04°N 7.13°E
Country	France
Region	Alsace
Department	Haut-Rhin
Arrondissement	Colmar
Canton	Munster
Intercommunality	Vallée de Munster
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Pierre Dischinger
Area1	8.64 km2 (3.34 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	5,125
• Density	590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	68226 / 68140
Elevation	341–794 m (1,119–2,605 ft); (avg. 380 m or 1,250 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Munster (French pronunciation: [mœ̃stɛʁ], German: Münster im Elsass) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.

It is located in a valley of the Vosges mountains about 15 kilometres west of Colmar on the D417 road to the Col de la Schlucht and Épinal.

The town's inhabitants are known in French as munstériens.

The site of a 7th-century abbey or monastery, which gave the place its name, is famous for its cheese (the Munster cheese).

In the nearby village of Gunsbach, Albert Schweitzer grew up in the late 19th century, when the region was known as Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) and was part of the German Empire. The village was spelled "Günsbach". The village is home to the international Albert Schweitzer association AISL (Association Internationale Schweitzer Lambaréné).^[1]