La Chaux-de-Fonds Tourist Attractions
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Situated in a high valley in the Jura, the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds (rebuilt on a regular plan after a fire in 1794) is the capital of the Swiss watchmaking industry, which was first established here about 1705 (several hundred firms: visitors can occasionally tour some of the establishments). The town is home of the Théâtre Populaire Romand, the only professional acting troupe of West Switzerland, and an important center of Esperanto.La Chaux-de-Fonds was the birthplace of the Romantic painter Léopold Robert (1794-1835), of the famous pilot and automobile manufacturer Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941), the poet and writer Blaise Cendrars (Frédéric Sauser, 1887-1961) and the famous architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965).The town of La Chaux-de-Fonds features illuminated ski trails, lifts from town, cross-country skiing, ski-bob run, indoor and outdoor ice rinks, tobogganing, and a ski school.
Watch and Clock Museum
The International Watch and Clock Museum (Internationales Uhrenmuseum: partly underground) takes as its theme "Man and Time", displaying the history of timekeeping from the Egyptians to the latest achievements of modern technology. It also has a workshop for the restoration of old watches and clocks which make its services available to collectors generally, a documentation office and library, audio-visual apparatus and a multi-purpose hall which is used for special exhibitions.
Watchmaking School
In La Chaux-de-Fond's Rue du Progrès is a Technical college, with a watchmaking school.
Hairdressing Museum
The Hairdressing Museum (Musée de la Coiffure) in Rue de la Balance has a notable collection on the subject of hair care.
Museum of Fine Arts
The collection is comprised of paintings, prints sculptures, and drawings of 19th and 20th centuries.
Natural History Museum
Local birds and mammals, marine life and African fauna can be seen in dioramas presenting the animals in their natural environment.
Historical Museum
La Chaux-de-Fonds' Historical Museum is located at 11 Rue de la Loge.
Museum of Art and Ethnography
La Chaux-de-Fonds' Museum of Art and Ethnography is located at 33 Rue des Musées.
Protestant Church
La Chaux-de-Fonds' Protestant church, built in 1794 after plans by M. Perret-Gentil, was rebuilt in 1921 after a fire.
May Festival
This annual day-long festival takes place in late May. It signals the arrival of the Spring season and includes a parade.
Surroundings
Surrounding sights of La Chaux-de-Fonds include Le Locle and Col-des-Roches where there is a Mill Museum.
Le Locle
8km/5mi southwest of La Chaux-de-Fonds is the modern industrial town of Le Locle (alt. 925 m/3,035ft), second only to La Chaux-de-Fonds as a hub of the watchmaking industry. It was founded in 1705 by Daniel Jean-Richard (monument at Post Office). In front of the Watchmaking school stands a monument to the first director of the school, J. Grossman (1829-1907), a native of the watchmaking town of Glashütte in Saxony. In the Rue Marie-Anne Calame (No. 6) the Museum of Art has works by Swiss artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the Château des Monts are a Watch and Clock Museum, with an interesting collection of watches and clocks and 35 automata, ranging in date from the 16th C. to the 19th C., and a small historical museum.
Museum of Fine Arts
Prints by Piranesi, Corot, Renoir Steinlen and Picasso are on display plus paintings and sculptures by Swiss artists and Inuit carvings.
Col-des-Roches - Mill Museum
Near La Chaux-de-Fonds at Col-des-Roches the underground river Bied was harnessed as far back as the 16th C. The mills built into the mountains processed flour, hemp and flax for 200 years before the water became necessary for the new electricity works. The mills were forgotten and fell into disrepair until they were restored in 1973 by a preservation society, with the aim of establishing the Musée National de la Meunerie.
