La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning: The town La Chaux-de-Fonds and its sister city Le Locle are situated close to one another in the Jura Mountains in Switzerland, about 66 km from Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. The watch-making industry was brought to Le Locle in the 17th century by a self-taught watchmaker, 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 pattern. Le Locle was rebuilt after a fire in 1833, taking La Chaux-de-Fonds as an example, it was also rebuilt in a chessboard pattern. This urban design was ideal for the 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 watch making industry. This important centre of the watch making 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'. La Chaux-de-Fonds is also a famous centre of the Art Nouveau. Car manufacturer Chevrolet and architect Le Corbusier were born in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1912, La Maison Blanche and La Villa Turque in La Chaux-de-Fonds were designed by Le Corbusier. La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 2009.
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La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning: The former town hall of Le Locle was built in 1839-1841. It is decorated on the outside with frescoes, on the inside with tempera paintings. After fires in the 18th and 19th centuries, the towns La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle were rebuilt in a chessboard pattern. The open planning of the urban space has encouraged the continual development of the watchmaking towns from the 18th century until today.
