⌚ La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning
UNESCO-designated industrial heritage towns in the Swiss Jura
📋 Fast Facts
- UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription: 2009
- Location: Swiss Jura Mountains, near Franco-Swiss border
- Primary industry: Watchmaking from 18th century onwards
- Key feature: Grid-based urban design optimized for horology production
La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle are twin towns in the Swiss Jura Mountains that represent an exceptional example of industrial town planning. Both were developed and rebuilt specifically to support watchmaking production, with urban layouts, architecture, and infrastructure deliberately designed around the technical and social requirements of the horological industry. The towns were jointly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009 in recognition of their outstanding universal value as a ...