The Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel (; ; ; ) is a mostly French-speaking
canton in western
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. In 2007, its population was 169,782, of whom 39,654 (or 23.4%) were foreigners. The
capital is
Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
.
History
County of Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel has a unique history as the only part of present-day
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
to enter the Confederation as a principality (on 19 May 1815).
Its first recorded ruler,
Rudolph III of Burgundy, mentioned Neuchâtel in his will in 1032. The dynasty of Ulrich count of
Fenis (Hasenburg) took over the town and its territories in 1034. The dynasty prospered and, by 1373, all the lands now part of the
canton belonged to the count. In 1405, the cities of
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
and Neuchâtel entered a union. The lands of Neuchâtel had passed to the
Zähringen lords of
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
in the late 14th century as inheritance from the childless
Elisabeth, Countess of Neuchâtel, to her nephews, and then in 1458 to margraves of
Sausenburg who belonged to the
House of Baden
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
.
Their heiress,
Johanna of Hachberg-Sausenberg (Jehanne de Hochberg), and her husband,
Louis I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville, inherited it in 1504, after which the
French house of
Orléans-Longueville (Valois-Dunois). Neuchâtel's Swiss allies then occupied it from 1512 to 1529 before returning it to its widowed countess.
The French preacher
Guillaume Farel brought the teachings of the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
to the area in 1530. Therefore, when the house of Orléans-Longueville became extinct with
Marie d'Orléans-Longueville's death in 1707, Neuchâtel was Protestant, and looked to avoid passing to a Catholic ruler. The rightful heiress in primogeniture from Jeanne de Hachberg was
Paule de Gondi, Duchess of
Retz, who was Catholic. The people of Neuchâtel chose Princess Marie's successor from among fifteen claimants. They wanted their new prince first and foremost to be a Protestant, and also to be strong enough to protect their territory but based far enough away to leave them to their own devices. King
Louis XIV of France
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
actively promoted the many French pretenders to the title, but the Neuchâtelois people in the final decision in 1708 passed them over in favour of the Protestant King
Frederick I of Prussia
Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...
, who claimed his entitlement in a rather complicated fashion through the
House of Orange and Nassau, who were not even descended from Jeanne de Hachberg.
Frederick I and his successors ruled the Principality of Neuchâtel () in
personal union
A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
with
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
from 1708 until 1806 and again from 1814 until 1857.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
deposed King
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...
as prince of Neuchâtel and appointed instead his chief of staff
Louis Alexandre Berthier. Starting in 1807, the principality provided Napoleon's
Grande Armée
The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...
with a battalion of rangers. The rangers were nicknamed ''Canaris'' (i.e.
canaries) because of their yellow uniforms.
After the
Liberation Wars the principality was restored to Frederick William III in 1814.
[Ilse Nicolas, "Militaria: Die Neffschandeller am Schlesischen Busch", in ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (1st ed. 1969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 2nd ed. 1979 (Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), pp. 111–114, here p. 111. .]
The ''Conseil d'État'' (state council, i.e. government of Neuchâtel) addressed him in May 1814 requesting the permission to establish a special battalion, a ''Bataillon de
Chasseur
''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action.
History
This branch of the French Army o ...
s'', for the service of his majesty.
Frederick William III then established by his "most-supreme
cabinet order" (''Allerhöchste Cabinets-Ordre'', A.C.O.), issued in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on 19 May 1814, the
Bataillon des Tirailleurs de la Garde following the same principles as with the Neuchâtel battalion within the Grande Armée.
The Conseil d'Etat of Neuchâtel had the right of nomination for the battalion's officers. The commander was the battalion's only officer chosen by the monarch.

A year later he agreed to allow the principality to join the
Swiss Confederation
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...
, then not yet an integrated
federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, but a
confederacy, as a full member. Thus Neuchâtel became the first and only monarchy to join the otherwise entirely republican Swiss cantons. This situation changed in 1848 when a peaceful revolution took place and established a republic, in the same year that the modern Swiss Confederation was transformed into a federation. King
Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...
did not cede immediately, and several attempts at counter-revolution took place, culminating in the
Neuchâtel Crisis of 1856–57. In 1857, Frederick William finally renounced the monarchy's claim on the area.
Geography

The canton of Neuchâtel is located in
Romandy
Romandy ( or ; Arpitan: ''Romandia'')Before World War I, the term French Switzerland () waalso used ( or , , ) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss pop ...
, the French-speaking western part of
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It is also located in the Jura mountainous region. To its northeast it borders the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...
, to the northwest
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
(
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...
).
Lake Neuchâtel lies southeast of the canton, while the canton of
Vaud
Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...
is southwest of the canton of Neuchâtel. The canton lies in the central area of the
Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...
. Lake Neuchâtel drains the lands in the south, whilst the river
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.[viticultural
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...]
region is located along the lake. Its name derives from the many vineyards found there. The region called ''Les Vallées'' lies further north. The two largest valleys of the canton of Neuchâtel lie in this region: the ''Ruz Valley'' and the ''Val de Travers''. Both valleys lie at about . The highest region of the canton, however, is the ''Neuchâtelois Mountains'' at to . This region is made up of a long valley, home to
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...
,
Le Locle
Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...
and
La Brévine.
Government
Neuchâtel was one of the first cantons in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
to grant women the right to vote (1959) and also to grant the vote to foreigners holding a residence permit and who have been domiciled in the canton for at least five years (2002), as well as to lower the voting age to 18.
The legislature, the
Grand Council of Neuchâtel, has 115 seats distributed in proportion to the population of the six districts that make up the electoral constituencies: Neuchâtel (35 seats), Boudry (25), Val-de-Travers (8), Val-de-Ruz (10), Le Locle (10), La Chaux-de-Fonds (27). The State Council (cantonal government), five "ministers" who assume the annual presidency in turn and manage the departments of justice, health and safety; finance and social welfare; public economy; regional management; education and culture. The cantonal authorities, which have their seat in the castle (the Château de Neuchâtel), are elected every four years by universal suffrage.
The people also elect their representatives to the federal parliament every four years: five of the 200 members of the
National Council (lower chamber) and two of the 46 members of the
Council of States (upper chamber).
Politics
Federal election results
Political subdivisions
Districts

Until 2018 the Canton was divided into six districts. On 1 January 2018 the districts were dissolved and all municipalities were placed directly under the canton.
["Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz"]
accessed 15 February 2018
*
Boudry
Boudry is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
History
Boudry is first mentioned in 1278 as ''Baudri''.
There are numerous prehistoric settlemen ...
with capital
Boudry
Boudry is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
History
Boudry is first mentioned in 1278 as ''Baudri''.
There are numerous prehistoric settlemen ...
*
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...
with capital
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...
*
Le Locle
Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...
with capital
Le Locle
Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...
*
Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
with capital
Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
*
Val-de-Ruz with capital
Cernier
*
Val-de-Travers with capital
Val-de-Travers
Municipalities
There are 24
municipalities in the canton ().
[
]
Demographics
The population is almost entirely French-speaking. The canton has historically been strongly Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, but in recent decades it has received an influx of Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
arrivals, notably from Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. In 2000, its population was closely split between Protestants (38%) and Roman Catholics (31%).
The inhabitants () are fairly evenly distributed with many small towns and villages lining the shore of the Lake of Neuchâtel. The average population density is . Neuchâtel ( population: ) is the canton's capital while La Chaux-de-Fonds ( population: ) is the canton's largest settlement. Some 38,000 of the inhabitants, or a little less than a quarter of the population, are of foreign origin.
Historical population
The historical population is given in the following table:
Economy
The canton is well known for its wines, which are grown along the Lake Neuchâtel shore, and for its absinthe
Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...
. The Val-de-Travers is famous as the birthplace of absinthe, which has now been re-legalized both in Switzerland and globally. There are dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
and cattle breeding in the valleys, but it is for the breeding of horses that Neuchâtel has a fine reputation. Watchmaking is well-established in the canton, with fine mechanics and microchip
An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...
production being established more recently. Higher educational institutions include Haute école Arc (representing Bern, Jura and Neuchâtel) and the University of Neuchâtel
The University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) is a French-speaking public research university in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The university has four faculties (schools) and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, ...
.
Notes
References
External links
Official website
*
Portal Neuch.ch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neuchatel, Canton of
Cantons of Switzerland
Arpitania
Subdivisions of Prussia
1030s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1034 establishments in Europe
1400s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1406 establishments in Europe
1648 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1707 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Counties of the Holy Roman Empire