Time out in La Chaux-de-Fonds (by kerouac2)
Sept 6, 2016 16:58:29 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2016 16:58:29 GMT
I have passed through La Chaux-de-Fonds a few times. Oddly enough, most people not from the region have never heard of this city even though it is the largest city in the canton of Neuchâtel, bigger than the city of Neuchâtel itself and the 3rd largest French-speaking city in Switzerland. It also has the odd honour of being the only city in Switzerland with a rectangular street grid with right angles due to the fact that the city burned to the ground in 1794 and was rebuilt from scratch. The city changed hands a number of times, being so close to France and Prussia. When the canton of Neuchâtel finally joined the Swiss Confederation in 1814 (at the same time as Geneva), it had the bizarre distinction of remaining under Prussian sovereignty, which continued to repress all modern ideas.
However, the city had been very much influenced by the French revolution and Napoléon, as well as regional writers like Voltaire and Rousseau and, like Geneva, never fit in the mold of the rest of the country. It also got a boost from Geneva for a peculiar reason -- the influence of Jean Calvin in Geneva. Calvinists banned decorative objects, and the watchmaking industry was exiled to La Chaux-de-Fonds very early on. It is still the headquarters of several of the major companies such as TAG Heuer, Audemars Piguet, etc., along with the neighbouring city of Locle.
This time I went to La Chaux-de-Fonds to finally visit the Musée International de l'Hologerie, the International Clock Museum. It is one of the major museums of its kind in the world. Driving there from Mulhouse was not all that difficult, but you can't really expect much in the way of photos from me when I am alone in the car. I admired once again the thick woods and twisty roads that separate Switzerland from France there, and even before the Schengen agreement, one often passed from one country to the other without even knowing where the border was. This time I did see a little blue sign that said "Suisse" in the middle of the forest. It was just like the blue signs that show when you enter other European countries, except that there was not a circle of stars around it.
However, the city had been very much influenced by the French revolution and Napoléon, as well as regional writers like Voltaire and Rousseau and, like Geneva, never fit in the mold of the rest of the country. It also got a boost from Geneva for a peculiar reason -- the influence of Jean Calvin in Geneva. Calvinists banned decorative objects, and the watchmaking industry was exiled to La Chaux-de-Fonds very early on. It is still the headquarters of several of the major companies such as TAG Heuer, Audemars Piguet, etc., along with the neighbouring city of Locle.
This time I went to La Chaux-de-Fonds to finally visit the Musée International de l'Hologerie, the International Clock Museum. It is one of the major museums of its kind in the world. Driving there from Mulhouse was not all that difficult, but you can't really expect much in the way of photos from me when I am alone in the car. I admired once again the thick woods and twisty roads that separate Switzerland from France there, and even before the Schengen agreement, one often passed from one country to the other without even knowing where the border was. This time I did see a little blue sign that said "Suisse" in the middle of the forest. It was just like the blue signs that show when you enter other European countries, except that there was not a circle of stars around it.
After I emerged from the forest, the lovely and tidy pastures appeared.
my first Swiss village church
Swiss town halls are built for efficiency, sunshine collection and damn any unnecessary aesthetics.
I still had a ways to go.
There are lots of grade crossings out in the countryside, and since Swiss train service is relatively frequent, one has to regularly stop at the barriers.
This is different from many countries: no fences to separate the road from the lumberyard. They don't worry about people carrying off boards, I guess.
It was a BIG lumberyard.
I quickly found rue des Musées when I arrived in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Two of the three major ones are next to each other.
The clock museum was actually built mostly underground into the side of a hill under a park.
my first Swiss village church
Swiss town halls are built for efficiency, sunshine collection and damn any unnecessary aesthetics.
I still had a ways to go.
There are lots of grade crossings out in the countryside, and since Swiss train service is relatively frequent, one has to regularly stop at the barriers.
This is different from many countries: no fences to separate the road from the lumberyard. They don't worry about people carrying off boards, I guess.
It was a BIG lumberyard.
I quickly found rue des Musées when I arrived in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Two of the three major ones are next to each other.
The clock museum was actually built mostly underground into the side of a hill under a park.