It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva , Lausanne , Bienne , and Fribourg , it is the fifth-largest city in the Romandie , the French-speaking part of the country, with a population as of December [update] of 36, The city was founded in Its growth and prosperity are mainly bound up with watchmaking.
It is the most important centre of the watch-making industry in the area known as the Watch Valley. Partially destroyed by a fire in , La Chaux-de-Fonds was rebuilt following a grid street plan, which was and is still unique among Swiss cities, the only exception being the easternmost section of the city, which was spared by the fire.
It creates an exciting and obvious transition from the old section to the newer section. The roads in the original section are very narrow and winding and open to the grid pattern near the town square. La Chaux-de-Fonds is a renowned centre of Art Nouveau. The Site's planning consists of two small towns located close to each other in the mountainous environment of the Swiss Jura.
Owing to the altitude 1, m [3, ft] and the lack of water porous sandstone underground , the land is ill-suited to farming. Planning and buildings reflect the watch-making artisans' need for rational organization. Rebuilt in the early 19th century, after extensive fires, both towns owe their survival to the manufacturing and exports of watches , to which, in the 20th century, was added the minute micromechanical industry. Along an open-ended scheme of parallel strips on which residential housing and workshops intermingle, the town's planned layout reflects the needs of the local watch-making culture that dates back to the 17th century, and which is still alive today.
Both agglomerations present outstanding examples of mono-industrial manufacturing towns, which are still well-preserved and active.
