La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning

Watchmaking literally built the twin towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, high in the Swiss Jura on land too poor for farming. Replanned in the early 19th century after ruinous fires, their parallel streets interleave housing and workshops to serve a craft rooted here since the 17th century and practised still. Karl Marx singled out La Chaux-de-Fonds in Das Kapital when analysing the watch industry's division of labour. UNESCO listed the two towns as World Heritage in 2009.