Fontainemelon

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Neuchâtel (NE)

District :

No district division

Municipality :

Val-de-Ruz

Postal code :

2052

former BFS no. :

6478

Coordinates :

558234 / 211917 coordinates: 47 ° 3 '25 " N , 6 ° 53' 20" O ; CH1903: 558234 / 211917

Height :

864 m above sea level M.

Area :

2.45 km²

Residents:

1633 (December 31, 2012)

Population density :

667 inhabitants per km²

Website:

www.fontainemelon.ch

map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2013

Fontainemelon was a municipality in the Val-de-Ruz district in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland . On January 1, 2013, it merged with the municipalities of Boudevilliers , Cernier , Chézard-Saint-Martin , Coffrane , Dombresson , Engollon , Fenin-Vilars-Saules , Fontaines , Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane , Les Hauts-Geneveys , Montmollin , Le Pâquier , Savagnier and Villiers to form the new municipality of Val-de-Ruz .

geography

Fontainemelon is 864 m above sea level. M. , eight kilometers north-northwest of the canton capital Neuchâtel (linear distance ). The village extends from a panoramic location on the northwestern edge of the Val de Ruz in the Neuchâtel Jura , on the southern slope of the Mont d'Amin and the Vue des Alpes .

The area of the 2.5 km² municipal area comprises a small section in the northwest of the Val de Ruz basin. The area extends northwards over the wooded steep slope above the village to the level of the anticline of Mont d'Amin below the pass of the Vue des Alpes. Here there are extensive Jura high pastures with the typical mighty spruce trees , which either stand individually or in groups. The highest point of the community is 1230 m above sea level. M. reached northeast of the Tete de Ran . In 1997, 19% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 39% for forests and woodlands and 42% for agriculture.

Part of the Les Loges settlement ( 1185 m above sea level ) on the road across the Vue des Alpes belongs to Fontainemelon . The neighboring municipalities of Fontainemelon are Fontaines , Les Hauts-Geneveys and Cernier .

Historic aerial photo by Werner Friedli from 1949

population

With 1633 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2012) Fontainemelon is one of the medium-sized communities in the canton of Neuchâtel. 88.9% of the residents speak French, 2.9% speak Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian and 2.5% speak German (as of 2000). The population of Fontainemelon has increased continuously since 1900 (then 794 inhabitants).

economy

The development of the farming village into an industrial community began at the end of the 18th century. First a textile factory was built, but it soon switched to watchmaking . In 1793, the Benguerel & Humbert watch factory was opened, which at that time still employed many workers from home. The factory led to the village's heyday in the 19th century. It was taken over by the Robert family in 1825 and, as a stock corporation, was named Uhrenfabrik Fontainemelon AG in 1876, which was bought by ETA SA in 1984 . Today, in addition to watchmaking, there are also companies in the telecommunications and electronics sectors .

traffic

The community has good transport links. It is located on the expressway from Neuchâtel to La Chaux-de-Fonds and on the cantonal road from Les Hauts-Geneveys to Dombresson . The nearest train station on the Neuchâtel - La Chaux-de-Fonds line is in Les Hauts-Geneveys. The south portals of the Vue des Alpes tunnels of both the railway line and the expressway are above Fontainemelon. The municipality is connected to the public transport network by the regional bus route from Neuchâtel via Cernier to Villiers and by a local bus route in Val de Ruz. From 1903 to 1948 the Les Hauts-Geneveys – Villiers tram ran through the town. It was replaced by the Val de Ruz trolleybus , which in turn was replaced by buses in 1984.

history

The first written mention of the village was in 1350 under the name Fontainnemelom . In 1358 the names Fontannamillon and Fontannamillum appeared . The name means mille fontaines ( thousand springs ) in reference to numerous small springs in the Fontainemelon area.

Fontainemelon belonged to the lordship of Valangin , which was partly subordinate to the Counts of Neuchâtel, partly to the Counts of Montbéliard and finally came to Neuchâtel in 1592. From 1648 Neuchâtel was a principality and from 1707 it was linked to the Kingdom of Prussia through personal union. In 1806 the area was ceded to Napoleon I and came to the Swiss Confederation in the course of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , whereby the kings of Prussia until the Neuchâtel trade in 1857 also remained princes of Neuchâtel.

Attractions

Fontainemelon church and rectory were built in 1902. The village is characterized by cubic tenement houses from the 19th century and numerous villas.

Web links

Commons : Fontainemelon - collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website of the municipality of Fontainemelon (French)
Maurice Evard: Fontainemelon. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .