Plainfaing () is a commune in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administ ...

in northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Geography

The commune is positioned in the east of the department, at the foot of the 949 meter high Bonhomme Pass ''(Col du Bonhomme)'', between

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (; german: Sankt Didel), commonly referred to as just Saint-Dié, is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Saint-Dié is located in th ...

() to the west and

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...

() in neighbouring

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...

to the east. The river Meurthe rises in the nearby commune of

Le Valtin Le Valtin () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 507 communes of the Vosges department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

and crosses Plainfaing from the south, and is joined by the stream from the Chaume valley. A designated natural reserve of half a square kilometre is shared between Valtin and Plainfaing, and includes the peaks of the Tanet and the Gazon of the Faing.

Demographic evolution

Born in Plainfaing

Raymond Ruyer Raymond Ruyer (13 January 1902 – 1987) was a French philosopher in the late 20th century. His work covered topics including the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of Informatics (academic field), informatics, the philosophy of Value (ethics), ...

, philosopher