Le Locle, its Town Hall and the Watch Industry

28 August 2019

Le Locle was mentioned for the first time in a document in 1151 as the property of the seigneurs of Valangin and, afterwards, the Counts of Neuchâtel.

The heydays came in the nineteenth century with the development of the watch industry. The Town Hall symbolizes this small city’s prosperity, cosmopolitanism and grandeur.

The world is the market for the (Horlogerie) industries and services. The Time and Town planning area (L’Espace Temps et Urbanisme) in the building is dedicated to the history of the watch industry.

Musée d’horlogerie du Locle, Château de Monts

The Town Hall, built after the First World War, is a harmonious construction of different architectural styles: neo-Renaissance, Art Nouveau and local.

The architecture, fresco and sculptures make it a work of total art, including the goddess guarding the source of living water in front of the building.

The sculpture was crafted in 1930 to remind the authorities of good governance. (Source and further information: www.lelocle.ch).

Le Locle and its Watch industry