Coordinates: 47°6′N, 6°50′E
| La Chaux-de-Fonds |
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| Population |
37,023 (December 2007) |
| - Density |
665 /km² (1,723 /sq.mi.) |
| Area |
55.66 km² (21.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation |
1,000 m (3,281 ft) |
| Postal code |
2300 |
| SFOS number |
6421 |
| Mayor |
Pierre Hainard |
| 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 |
www.chaux-de-fonds.ch |
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La Chaux-de-Fonds is the capital city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city in the French-speaking part of the country.
With its neighbour Le Locle, the cities are candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage.
History
The region was first inhabited around 10,000 years ago (Epipaleolithic). A skull and other traces have been found in caves nearby.
In the middle of the 14th century, the forests found there have been colonised from the south. The region was under the authority of the lords of Valangin. Agriculture was the main activity. The first church was built in 1528. The city became at the end of the 16th century an important crossroad between Neuchâtel and Franche-Comté.
City of La Chaux-de-Fonds in winter
The community grew during the Thirty Years' War, mainly because of its strategic position for trade. But economic activity really begins in the 18th century with the development of lace and watchmaking industry. Pierre Jacquet-Droz and his family is one of the most famous watchmakers of this time. He is best known for his automata.
In 1794, the city was devastated by fire. Charles-Henri Junod created the new city's plan in 1835, as a grid. The central avenue is named the Avenue Léopold Robert.
Culture
La Chaux-de-Fonds is the home of the Musee International d'Horlogerie (International Watchmaking Museum), originally constructed with funds donated by the Gallet watchmaking family in 1899. The Museum is considered as an important showcase for the history of the timekeeping arts.citation needed Watchmaking companies such as Accurist, Movado, Omega, and TAG Heuer have offices in the city.
Art Nouveau had a great influence on architecture and culture in the city during the late 19th century.
The daily newspaper L'Impartial has been published in La Chaux-de-Fonds since 1880.
The Wakker Prize was granted to La-Chaux-de-Fonds in 1994.
Economy
The city's economy is based on industry and watch manufacturers. Famous watchmaking manufacturers include Gallet, Girard-Perregaux founded in Geneva in 1791, TAG Heuer, Corum (watchmakers), Breitling, Juvenia, the Marathon Watch Company, Movado, Ulysse Nardin, Invicta and others.
Transport
The city is served by Les Eplatures Airport and has a trolleybus transport system.
Notable people
Its most famous native sons are the architect Le Corbusier, born here as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret in 1887 (his first independent project as an architect, the Villa Jeanneret-Perret, is open to the public), Louis Chevrolet, born in 1878, founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company and Blaise Cendrars, novelist and poet, born as Frédéric Louis Sauser in 1887.
Other notable people born in La Chaux-de-Fonds include Louis-Leopold Robert, a painter, born in 1794, Numa Droz, a politician, born in 1844, and Adrienne von Speyr, a modern Catholic mystic, born in 1902.
Among the watchmakers, are the Gallet family: [1]
- Julien Gallet (1806-1849), who moved north from Geneva to La Chaux de Fonds in 1826, founded Gallet & Cie;[1]
- Lucien Gallet (1834-1879), son of Julien, who expanded the company into Chicago;[1]
- Léon L. Gallet (1832-1899), eldest son of Julien and patriarch figure of the growing company.[1] The company premises at Rue du Parc in La Chaux de Fonds became too small, and expansion was made by acquiring the company Grumbach & Co., formerly producing watches of the brand name Electa.[1] Gallet & Co. was renamed as the Electa Gallet Watch Manufactory. Léon L. Gallet played an important role in the social life in La Chaux-de-Fonds.[1] Together with Longines in St. Imier, he founded the Intercantonal Company for Industrial Development of the Jura area. Upon his death, Léon Gallet bequeathed a sum of 43,000 Swiss Francs (today equivalent to 1 million Swiss Francs or approx. 740,000 US dollars) to his hometown of La Chaux-de-Fonds, of which 25,000 Swiss Francs were earmarked to build the International Watchmaking Museum. Donated by Léon Gallet’s son George, the museum now houses a collection of over 100 of Gallet's most complicated and valuable timepieces, including the world's first wristwatch, produced in 1899 for mass consumption.[1]. Léon Gallet also commissioned architect René Chapallaz, Le Corbusier's architecture teacher, to design "Villa Gallet". Situated in "Parc Gallet" in the southern part of La Chaux-de-Fonds, "Villa Gallet" still retains its original name and is considered as an important historic contribution to the "Art Nouveau" movement of the late 1800’s. [2].
Watch companies
The Gallets' best customer and exclusive distributor in the US, dating back to 1877, was the wholesale dealer Racine.[1] Jules Racine, a cousin of the La Chaux-de-Fonds Gallets, distributed watches from the Gallet[1] brand, as well as with his own brand names Racine (since 1870), Jules Racine, Lady Racine, and Racine Royale. Racine also distributed famous American brand named timpieces including Bridgeport, Burlington, Chancellor, Commodore, Continental, Eureka, Mars, National Park, Security, Select, Solar, Success, The Governor, and others.[1] While the style of these US distributed timepieces had cases, bands, watch faces, and hands tuned to the American taste, the movements were always manufactured by Gallet in La Chaux-de-Fonds.[1]
Beyond the Gallets, La Chaux de Fonds has a long history with watch manufacturers. Invicta Watch Group was founded by Raphael Picard in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1837. Omega SA was founded there in 1848. In 1881, Achilles Ditesheim founded Movado. Hans Wilsdorf registered the trademark name "Rolex" in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1908. His company, Wilsdorf & Davis, was later renamed Rolex Watch Company. TAG Heuer, founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer, is also headquartered in the city.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gallet Group Inc. - Gallet Geneva 1685 - History" (part 2), Gallet Group Inc., 2007, webpage: Gallet-hist.
- ^ (1982) L'Inventaire Suisse d'Architecture: 1850-1920, Volume 3, Bienne, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Coire, Davos. Bern: Société d'Histoire de l'Art en Suisse.
References
External links
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