La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning: The town La Chaux-de-Fonds and its sister city, Le Locle, are both situated in the Jura Mountains in Switzerland, approximately 66 km from Bern, the Swiss capital. The watchmaking industry was introduced to Le Locle in the 17th century by the self-taught watchmaker Daniel Jeanrichard. He encouraged the local farmers of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle to start manufacturing watch components for him during the long winters. La Chaux-de-Fonds was completely destroyed by a fire in 1794; the town was rebuilt in a chessboard grid pattern. Le Locle was rebuilt following devastating fires in 1833 and 1844; taking La Chaux-de-Fonds as an example, it was also rebuilt in a chessboard grid pattern. This urban design was ideal for their role as watchmaking cities. Due to this town planning, the artisanal production of a cottage industry turned into the more concentrated factory production in the 19th and 20th centuries. At the end of the 19th century, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle enjoyed great prosperity thanks to the watchmaking industry. This noted centre of the watchmaking industry is known as the Watch Valley. Karl Marx described La Chaux-de-Fonds as a 'huge factory town' in his famous work 'Das Kapital'. The town is also a renowned centre of Art Nouveau. The car manufacturer Louis Chevrolet and the widely known architect Le Corbusier were born in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1912, La Maison Blanche and La Villa Turque (Turkish Villa) were built in La Chaux-de-Fonds by Le Corbusier. La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.
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La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning: The former town hall of Le Locle was built between 1839 and 1841. This building is decorated on the outside with frescoes and on the inside with tempera paintings. After devastating fires in the 18th and 19th centuries, the towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle were rebuilt in a grid (chessboard) pattern. The open planning of the urban space has encouraged the continuous development of these Swiss towns from the 18th century until today.
