Neuchatel enjoys a charming site between its lake, with 3 miles of quays, and Chaumont Hill. The pleasant, smiling town stands in the middle of vineyards; its pale ochre houses made Alexandre Dumas say it was carved out of a pat of butter. The silhouettes of the collegiate church and the castle dominate the scene.
Lake Neuchatel is the largest wholly Swiss Lake, being nearly 24 miles long and 5 miles wide. It is teeming with fish. Canals used by pleasure boats join with Lake Biel and Lake Murten.
The name Neuchatel is derived from a structure built as a stronghold in the second period of Burgundian rule. The town then became the property of the French Orleans-Longueville family by inheritance. Again by inheritance, Neuchatel became the personal property of the King of Prussia after 1707. Its intellectual and cultural life blossomed and the ideas of the Encyclopaedists flourished there. Neuchatel then joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815 and was then in a peculiar political position. It became a Swiss canton while remaining bound to the King of Prussia.
Sights
Old town - A picturesque quarter with old houses, 16th and 17th century fountains and defensive towers, extends between the town hall, a classical building by the architect and painter Paris from Besancon, and the group formed by the collegiate church and the castle.
Collegiate Church and Castle - These two curious buildings form a single monumental ensemble. The collegiate church, a fine 12th and 13th century construction with multicolored glazed tiles, was converted in 1530, because of the Reformation, and heavily restored during the 19th century. The castle, which formerly was the residence of the Neuchatel lords, is today the seat of the cantonal government; it still retains some vestiges of the 12th century, like the Romanesque gallery pierced by seven blind bays in the southwest façade.
Hotel Du Peyrou - This graceful building was erected in the 18th century for a finacier, Du Peyrou, a friend of philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau. A fine entrance gate affords a view of the façade, which has pure lines and great unity of style, and gives access to a garden. The statue in the pool, The Bather, is the works of A Ramseyer.
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