La Chaux-de-Fonds (French pronunciation: [laʃodəfɔ̃]; archaic German: Schalu) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel.

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 2020[update]) of 36,915.

The roads in the original section are very narrow and winding and open to the grid pattern near the town square.

The famous architect Le Corbusier, the writer Blaise Cendrars, and the carmaker Louis Chevrolet were born there.

In 2009, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, its sister city, were jointly awarded UNESCO World Heritage status for their exceptional universal value.

The watch-making cities of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle have jointly received recognition from UNESCO for their exceptional universal value.

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 (1,000 m [3,300 ft]) and the lack of water (porous sandstone underground), the land is ill-suited to farming.

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.

In 1867, Karl Marx was already describing La Chaux-de-Fonds as a "huge factory-town" in Das Kapital, where he analyzed the division of labour in the watch-making industry of the Jura.

[4] It is the tenth Swiss Site to be awarded World Heritage status, joining others such as the Old City of Bern, the Rhaetian Railway and the Abbey and Convent of St. Gallen.

Parallel to this and despite residency bans Jewish traders began to settle in the region and became involved in the industry.

The traditional model of the individual craftsmen was not compatible with the faster-industrialised production rates, but from the 1880s modernisation slowly but surely took hold in the Swiss watch industry.

[9][10] One of the first modern factories was founded by the Ditesheim brothers Achilles, Leopold and Isidore, who had moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1876.

[11] During the First World War the watch companies largely received armament commissions (for instance for the production of precision fuses for artillery shells).

Some Jewish companies in La Chaux-de-Fonds were under surveillance from German spies, suspected of illegally exporting war materials for the Allied Forces.

24.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees.

Library/museum/theater: Bibliothèque de la Ville de la Chaux-de-Fonds et Département audiovisuel (DAV), Musée des beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds, Musée d‘histoire naturelle, the Musée international d’horlogerie «l’homme et le temps» and the Théâtre et Salle de musique on Avenue Léopold-Robert 27–29 Religious: Synagogue on Rue du Parc 63 Farms: Ferme des Brandt at Les Petites-Corsettes 6, Ferme Haute Fie and Maison Carrée at Le Valanvron 9 and Ferme les Crêtets on Rue des Crêtets 148 Companies: Spillmann SA on Rue du Doubs 32 and Usine électrique at Rue Numa-Droz 174 Houses: Villa Anatole Schwob on Rue du Doubs 167, Villa Fallet on Chemin de Pouillerel 1, Villa Gallet on Rue David-Pierre-Bourquin 55, Villa Jaquemet on Chemin de Pouillerel 8, Villa Stotzer on Chemin de Pouillerel 6 and Maison Blanche at Chemin de Pouillerel 12 Other buildings: the slaughterhouse (Abattoirs) on Rue du Commerce 120–126, the Ancien Manège (collective house from 1968), the crematorium on Rue de la Charrière, the Domaine des Arbres, the Grande Fontaine on Avenue Léopold-Robert and the Loge l’Amitié, after the horrid mudslide that occurred which destroyed the city of La Chaux.

In the tertiary sector; 2,287 or 24.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 680 or 7.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 571 or 6.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 150 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 372 or 4.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 573 or 6.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 816 or 8.7% were in education and 2,078 or 22.3% were in health care.

[16] Religion in La Chaux-de-Fonds, 31.12.2014[24] According to the 2000 census[update], 11,320 or 30.6% of the city's inhabitants were Roman Catholic, while 10,258 or 27.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

These libraries include; the Bibliothèque de la Ville and the Haute école Arc – Arts appliqués.

Art Nouveau had a great influence on architecture and culture in the city during the late 19th century.

The team had a successful stint[citation needed] in the National League (NL) where they played for a few years and won the championship six times in a row, from 1968 to 1973.

The city is also served by Les Eplatures Airport and the La Chaux-de-Fonds trolleybus system.

In July 2023, La Chaux-de-Fonds experienced a severe storm, resulting in one fatality and approximately 40 injuries.

The storm, characterized by powerful winds reaching speeds of up to 217 km/h, inflicted significant damage to the town's infrastructure, leading to estimated repair costs of CHF 70-90 million.

The destructive winds tore roofs off buildings, toppled trees, and impacted thousands of structures and vehicles.

Meteorological analysis suggested that the wind pattern resembled a downburst rather than a tornado, a weather phenomenon caused by a sudden cooling of air within a thunderstorm.