Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (; ; Alsatian: Màrkìrisch) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Geography Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is located in the massif of the Vosges Mountains, where it occupies the V-shaped valley of the . Nearby Lorraine is accessible by road over the (772 m) or the Tunnel Maurice-Lemaire (reopened, following a major upgrade, in October 2008). The (903 m) leads to the Col du Bonhomme and to the Route des Crêtes (Road of the Ridges). The Col du Haut de Ribeauvillé (742 m, 2,412 feet) gives direct access to Ribeauvillé, situated to the southeast. Sélestat in the Bas Rhin, a much more substantial commercial and political focus for the region, is just to the east, along the Liepvrette valley. Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is surrounded on both sides of the valley by high mountains. The Lièpvrette River, which was formerly called Landbach, separates the town into two parts, and, formerly, into two different parishes. Some 23 km to the west lies Sélestat at the intersection of the D48, D416, and D459 roads, the first of which crosses the Col des Bagenelles mountain pass. Early Latin documents called the town Fanum S. Mariae or S. Maria ad Fodinas. Its German-language name was Markirch or Mariakirch. In year II of the Republic, it was given the name of Val-aux-Mines. The valley of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is sometimes called the . It contains five municipalities: Aubure, Lièpvre, Rombach-le-Franc, and Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines. Established in 1790, it was subdivided temporarily, between 1795 and 1802, into two: the one restricted to the town of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, and the other one including the four other municipalities with its center at Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines. The valley of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines was a part of the district of Colmar, but in 1871 it became part of the district of Ribeauvillé. According to the Köppen climate classification, the climate of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is oceanic (Cfb), bordering a humid continental climate (Dfb). Localities within the commune Adelspach, Altenberg, Bourgonde, Brifosse, Clésio, la Côte d'Échéry, Échéry, Faunoux, Fenarupt, Fertrupt (Fordelbach), Haut de Faîte, la Haute Broque, le Haycot, Hergauchamps, Mongoutte, la Petite Lièpvre (Kleinleberau), le Petit Haut, le Rauenthal (le Fond-nu), Saint-Philippe, Saint-Pierre sur l'Hâte, Surlattes (Zillhardt). Population Saint Marie-aux-Mines's coats of arms In Louis XIV's "Armorial de la Généralité d’Alsace", Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines's coat of arms is described as: a blue field with a silver-colored representation of Our Lady putting her feet on a golden mountain. The current coats of