Ballon d'Alsace is a 1247 meter high mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top there is a nice view on the Vosges, the Rhine valley and the Black Forest. Capital Strasbourg Area 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 1,793,000 1,734,145 209/km² Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Départements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Alsace ( French: Alsace; Alsatian/ German: Elsaß) is a région of France. ... Capital Metz Area 23,547 km² Regional President Jean-Pierre Masseret Population  - 2005 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 2,310,376 98/km² Arrondissements 19 Cantons 157 Communes 2,337 Départements Meurthe-et-Moselle Meuse Moselle Vosges Lorraine ( German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. ... Capital Besançon Area 16,202 km² Regional President Raymond Forni ( PS) (since 2004) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 20th) 1,133,000 1,117,059 70/km² (2004) Arrondissements 8 Cantons 116 Communes 1,786 Départements Doubs Haute-Saône Jura Territoire de Belfort Franche-Comt... Vosges is a French département, named after the Vosges mountain range. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1. ... A map of Germany, showing the Black Forest in red. ...

It is also noted as the site of the first official mountain climb in the Tour de France on 10 July 1905. Stage 9 of the 2005 Tour will cross this mountain on the centenary of the original climb. This article is about the cycle race. ... July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The 92nd Tour de France will be held from July 2 to July 24, 2005. ...

External links

• ballon.alsace.free.fr
• les-mille-etangs.com  (http://www.les-mille-etangs.com/ballon_alsace.htm)