La Chaux-de-Fonds

Sister cities

• Winterthur
• Frameries

History

The region was first inhabited around 10,000 years ago (Mesolithic). A skull and other traces have been found in caves nearby. The name is of uncertain origin, "Chaux" perhaps being of pre-IE origin and meaning -arid plateau, while de Fonds being intended to connect it with Fontaines in Val-de-Ruz. The region was under the authority of the lords of Valangin. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the second wave of colonization came from the so-called Clos de la Franchise (the valleys of Le Locle and La Sagne). Agriculture was the main activity but the village remained small. In 1531 there were only about 35 people living there. The first church was built in 1528. By 1530, La Chaux-de-Fonds, like the rest of the Valangin lands, converted to the new Reformed faith. The Lord of Valanginian, René de Challant, fixed the boundaries of the parish in 1550. The church and parish provided a political structure and a small community of Valanginian citizens, free farmers and peasants grew up around the church. By 1615 there were 355 people living in the village. In 1616, the low and middle jurisdiction over La Chaux-de-Fonds moved to Le Locle and La Sagne, while the high court remained in Valanginian. Agriculture, supplemented by mills on the banks of the Doubs, continued to dominate. However, at the end of the 16th century, the city became an important crossroad between Neuchâtel, Franche-Comté and the Bishopric of Basel. The central avenue is named the Avenue Léopold Robert. In the second half of the 18th century, Swiss watch-making was on the rise. Parallel to this and despite residency bans Jewish traders began to settle in the region and became involved in the industry. From 1848 onwards restrictions on residence and settlement of Jews were gradually lifted in the Canton…

Geography

La Chaux-de-Fonds has an area, , of . Of this area, or 54.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 27.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 16.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land. Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 1.6% of the total area, housing and buildings 8.4%, transport infrastructure 4.6% and parks, green belts and sports fields 1.1%. 24.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.4% is used for growing crops, 40.0% is pasture and 14.2% is alpine pasture. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. It is located in the Jura Mountains near the French border at an elevation of about .

Most-observed species

• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,687
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  4,105
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,828
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  3,542
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  3,017
• Small Tortoiseshell

  Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,931
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,614
• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  2,612

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 4.4 — 2023-03-22
  1 km NW of Pont-de-Roide, France
• M 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France
• M 3.1 — 2018-05-04
  2 km W of Schliengen, Germany
• M 4.1 — 2017-07-01
  7 km E of Châtel-Saint-Denis, Switzerland