La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds (French pronunciation: [laʃodəfɔ̃]) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg it is the fifth largest city in the Romandie, the French-speaking part of the country, with a population (as of December 2020) of 36,915.
La Chaux-de-Fonds | |
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Municipality | |
La Chaux de-Fonds in September 2005 | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of La Chaux-de-Fonds | |
La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds | |
| Coordinates: 47°6.08′N 6°49.5′E | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Neuchâtel |
| Government | |
| • Executive | Conseil communal with 5 members |
| • Mayor | Président du Conseil communal (list) Théo Huguenin-Elie |
| • Parliament | Conseil général with 41 members |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,566 km2 (2,149 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 992 m (3,255 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018) | |
| • Total | 37,942 |
| • Density | 6.8/km2 (18/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 2300 |
| SFOS number | 6421 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-NE |
| Surrounded by | Fontaines, Fournet-Blancheroche (FR-25), Grand'Combe-des-Bois (FR-25), La Ferrière (BE), La Sagne, Le Locle, Les Bois (JU), Les Fontenelles (FR-25), Les Hauts-Geneveys, Les Planchettes, Renan (BE) |
| Twin towns | Winterthur (Switzerland), Frameries (Belgium) |
| Website | chaux-de-fonds SFSO statistics |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| Part of | La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning |
| Criteria | Cultural: (iv) |
| Reference | 1302-001 |
| Inscription | 2009 (33rd Session) |
| Area | 213.7 ha (528 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 2,867.5 ha (7,086 acres) |
The city was founded in 1656. Its growth and prosperity are mainly bound up with watch making. It is the most important centre of the watch-making industry in the area known as the Watch Valley. Partially destroyed by a fire in 1794, La Chaux-de-Fonds was rebuilt following a grid street plan, which was and is still unique among Swiss cities, the only exception being the easternmost section of the city, which was spared by the fire. This creates an interesting and obvious transition from the old section to the newer section. The roads in the original section are very narrow and winding and then open up to the grid pattern near the town square. The famous architect Le Corbusier, the writer Blaise Cendrars and the carmaker Louis Chevrolet were born there. La Chaux-de-Fonds is a renowned centre of Art Nouveau.
In 2009 La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, its sister city, were jointly awarded UNESCO World Heritage status for their exceptional universal value.