History of the villages of the canton of Neuchâtel

All documented localities of the canton of Neuchâtel, grouped by region. 109 localities.

Region: Littoral 48 localities

Areuse

Small locality on the Areuse river between Colombier and Boudry, a former municipality merged into Boudry in 1870.

Auvernier

Village of winegrowers and fishermen on Lake Neuchâtel, recorded since 1011, whose pile dwellings are among the richest in Switzerland; a locality of Milvignes since 2013.

Bevaix

Village on the north shore of Lake Neuchâtel that grew up around a Cluniac priory founded in 998, amid many prehistoric lakeside settlements.

Bôle

Hillside street village on the line of the old Roman road Vy d'Etraz, recorded since 1346, which has turned from a farming village into a residential one; a locality of Milvignes since 2013.

NE · Town

Boudry

Small town on the Neuchâtel lakeshore, a chartered borough of 1343 at the foot of its castle, which controlled the Yverdon-Neuchâtel road where it crossed the Areuse.

Brot-Dessous

Former municipality in the Areuse gorges, between the river and the Solmont range, cited from 998 and today in the municipality of Rochefort (merger of 1 January 2016).

Chambrelien

Hamlet in the municipality of Rochefort, known for its station where trains on the Neuchâtel-La Chaux-de-Fonds line reverse direction, now a residential area.

Champ-du-Moulin

Hamlet in the Areuse gorges split between the municipality of Boudry (Champ-du-Moulin-Dessous) and the municipality of Rochefort (Champ-du-Moulin-Dessus), where Jean-Jacques Rousseau stayed in 1764.

NE · Site

Château de Rochefort

Ruins of a medieval castle on a height at the entrance to the Val-de-Travers, in the municipality of Rochefort, the only castle ruin in the canton of Neuchâtel.

Chaumont

Wooded mountain above Neuchâtel, a summer resort that became a permanent community in the 19th century, linked to the town by funicular since 1910.

Chez-le-Bart

Hamlet of the former municipality of Gorgier on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel, known for its beach and bathing pavilion, near the lakeside site of Les Argilliez.

Colombier

Village on a small hill near Lake Neuchâtel, known for its castle built over one of the largest Roman villas in Switzerland and for its military training ground; a locality of Milvignes since 2013.

Combes

Wine-growing hamlet on the hillside of Le Landeron, former community of the castellany of Le Landeron with its Sainte-Anne chapel (1681), in the municipality of Le Landeron.

Corcelles

Street village in the vineyards that grew up around a Cluniac priory, long united with Cormondrèche and a locality of the municipality of Neuchâtel since 2021.

Cormondrèche

Winegrowing street village on a terrace above the lake, long linked with Corcelles and a locality of the municipality of Neuchâtel since 2021.

Cornaux

Winegrowing village of the Entre-deux-Lacs at the foot of the Jura, known to archaeologists worldwide for the Celtic bridge of Les Sauges, uncovered in 1965.

Cortaillod

Wine-growing village on a cliff above Lake Neuchâtel, which gave its name to a Neolithic culture and has been home to the cable industry since 1879.

Cressier

Winegrowing village at the foot of the Jura, on the edge of the Thielle plain, which remained Catholic at the Reformation and bears the mark of the Vallier family and its castle.

Enges

Farming village on the slopes of the Chasseral, which remained Catholic within the parish of Cressier, now a locality of the municipality of Laténa.

Epagnier

Former village on Lake Neuchâtel, mentioned from 1163, united with Marin in 1888 and today a district of the municipality of Laténa.

Fresens

Small farming village of the Béroche, perched on a terrace above Lake Neuchâtel and home to a Neolithic dolmen, the Trou des Âmes.

Gorgier

Hillside village of the Béroche, long at the heart of the lordship of Gorgier and overlooked by its castle, with the lakeside hamlet of Chez-le-Bart.

Grandchamp

Hamlet of Areuse in the municipality of Boudry, former site of a calico-printing works and since the 1930s home of the Protestant Community of Grandchamp.

NE · Site

Grotte de Cotencher

Cave in the Gorges de l'Areuse, in the municipality of Rochefort, a Mousterian site that has yielded the most important Neanderthal human remain in Switzerland.

Hauterive

Wine-growing village at the foot of Chaumont, which gave its name to the yellow Hauterive stone and houses the Laténium on the Champréveyres site.

La Coudre

Former wine-growing village on the Vy d'Etra, recorded from 1143, a district of Neuchâtel since 1930 and the starting point of the Chaumont funicular.

NE · Town

Le Landeron

Fortified small town founded in 1325 on the Thielle, seat of a châtellenie until 1848, which remained Catholic at the Reformation.

Lignières

Village on the Plateau de Diesse at the foot of the Chasseral, long shared between the Count of Neuchâtel and the Prince-Bishop of Basel, known for its franc-alleu and its motor racing circuit.

Marin-Épagnier

Locality on Lake Neuchâtel whose La Tène site gave its name to the European late Iron Age, now part of the municipality of Laténa.

Monruz

Lakeside district of Neuchâtel, a former hamlet of La Coudre, where work on the A5 motorway revealed one of the main Magdalenian camps in Switzerland.

Montalchez

Farming village in the uplands of the Béroche, mentioned in 1340, which has kept its rural character above Lake Neuchâtel.

NE · Town

Neuchâtel

Capital of the canton, born from a royal "new castle" mentioned in 1011, a chartered town from 1214 and the first French-speaking Protestant capital.

Perreux

Locality in the municipality of Boudry, home since 1894 of the cantonal institution for incurables that became a psychiatric hospital, and of a federal asylum centre.

Peseux

Former village of winegrowers and farmers on the edge of Neuchâtel, known for its 16th-century castle and since 2021 a residential locality of the municipality of Neuchâtel.

Municipality in the district of Boudry, at the crossroads of the Colombier-Le Locle and Neuchâtel-Pontarlier roads, which grew up around a now ruined castle and is home to the Mousterian cave of Cotencher.

Saint-Aubin-Sauges

Economic centre and former main town of the Béroche, formed in 1888 by the union of Saint-Aubin and Sauges, between vineyards and Lake Neuchâtel.

Saint-Blaise

Former wine-growing village at the foot of Chaumont, which grew up around the mills of the Ruau and became a locality of the municipality of Laténa in 2025.

Sauges

Hamlet of the Béroche next to the Port-Conty lakeside settlement, former municipality united with Saint-Aubin in 1888, today in the municipality of La Grande Béroche.

Serrières

Former industrial village at the mouth of the short Serrière valley, cradle of the paper mills and of Suchard chocolate, now a district of Neuchâtel.

NE · Site

La Tène site

Archaeological type site of the European later Iron Age, at the mouth of the Thielle in Lake Neuchâtel, in the municipality of Laténa.

Souaillon

Wine estate between Saint-Blaise and Cornaux, built from 1718 for Pierre de Chambrier, in the municipality of Cornaux.

Thielle

Hamlet on the Thielle river, former seat of the court of the castellany of Thielle and site of an important toll, now a locality of the municipality of Laténa.

Trois-Rods

Hamlet in the municipality of Boudry at the mouth of the Areuse gorges, inhabited since the 16th century and overlooked by the château of Jean-Frédéric de Pierre (around 1768).

NE · Town

Valangin

A fortified market town nestled at the foot of its medieval castle, former capital of a lordship in the canton of Neuchâtel.

Vaumarcus

Border village of the Béroche on Lake Neuchâtel near the Vaud boundary, overlooked by the castle of the former barony of Vaumarcus.

Vernéaz

Small hamlet above Vaumarcus on the Vaud border, recorded from 1194 and tied since 1306 to the fortunes of the lordship of Vaumarcus.

Voëns

Hamlet north of Saint-Blaise on the old Vy d'Etra, which gave its name to the former municipality of Voëns-Maley, today in the municipality of Laténa.

Wavre

Small farming village near the Thielle, recorded in 1179, known for the Montmirail estate and its former Moravian Brethren boarding school.

Region: Montagnes 19 localities

NE · Site

Barrage du Châtelot

Franco-Swiss arch dam 74 m high on the Doubs, commissioned in 1953, on the territory of the municipality of Les Planchettes, the largest in the Doubs valley.

Brot-Plamboz

Rural municipality in the Neuchâtel Mountains, formed in 1888 by the union of Brot-Dessus and Plamboz, on the old salt and wine road.

NE · Site

Grand-Cachot-de-Vent

Double farmhouse of 1530-1531 at Le Cachot, in the municipality of La Chaux-du-Milieu, saved from ruin and now an art gallery.

La Brévine

Village of the high valley of La Brévine, known for its cold records, born of medieval land clearing and recognised as a municipality in 1624.

NE · Town

La Chaux-de-Fonds

Watchmaking metropolis of the Neuchâtel Jura, rebuilt on a grid after the fire of 1794, birthplace of Le Corbusier and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2009 together with Le Locle.

La Chaux-du-Milieu

Farming village of the valley of La Brévine, granted as a fief in 1310 to inhabitants of Morteau, a parish since 1716 and a municipality since 1825.

La Corbatière

Hamlet in the municipality of La Sagne, at the north-eastern end of the La Sagne valley, known for its erratic boulder protected since 1910 and its ski lifts opened in 1950.

La Sagne

Long street village in the valley of La Sagne and Les Ponts, in the Neuchâtel Mountains, mentioned in 1332 and starting point of the royalist uprising of 1856.

NE · Site

Lac des Taillères

Small natural lake in the La Brévine valley, in the municipality of La Brévine, whose waters reach the source of the Areuse underground.

Le Cerneux-Péquignot

Catholic clearing village at 1'070 m on the French border, long a possession of the priory of Morteau, which became part of Neuchâtel in 1814-1819.

NE · Town

Le Locle

"Mother commune" of the Neuchâtel mountains and cradle of Jura watchmaking, rebuilt for watchmakers after three fires and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2009 together with La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Les Brenets

The only Neuchâtel village on the northern slope of the Jura, on the Doubs and its lake, rebuilt on a geometric plan after the fire of 1848, today in the municipality of Le Locle (merger of 1 January 2021).

Les Eplatures

Former municipality of farms and hamlets between Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds, merged into La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1900, now an industrial district with the regional airport.

Les Planchettes

Farming and forest municipality in the Neuchâtel Mountains, between the Doubs and Pouillerel, home to the Franco-Swiss Le Châtelot dam.

Les Ponts-de-Martel

Watchmaking village in the Neuchâtel Mountains, on the edge of the marshes of the valley of La Sagne and Les Ponts, whose bridges over the marsh are mentioned in 1376.

Les Taillères

Hamlet of the municipality of La Brévine on the shore of the Lac des Taillères, part of the mairie of the Chaux-des-Taillères from 1624 to 1848.

Miéville

Hamlet of the street village of La Sagne, in the municipality of La Sagne, where the teacher and draughtsman Oscar Huguenin spent his youth.

NE · Site

Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

Mills built in the 17th century in the cave where the Bied disappears, at the Col-des-Roches, in the municipality of Le Locle, now a museum and a cultural property of national significance.

NE · Site

Saut du Doubs

27-metre waterfall of the Doubs on the French-Swiss border at the end of the Lac des Brenets, on the territory of the municipality of Le Locle (former municipality of Les Brenets).

Region: Val-de-Ruz 23 localities

Bayerel

Locality of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz on the Seyon, between Engollon and Saules, known for its mill attested from 1416 and listed as a cultural property of national importance.

Boudevilliers

A farming village in the Val-de-Ruz, long a count's mairie enclosed within the lordship of Valangin, on the Vue-des-Alpes road.

Cernier

Former county seat of the district of Val-de-Ruz, today the administrative heart of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz, in the canton of Neuchâtel.

Chézard-Saint-Martin

Former Val-de-Ruz municipality that brought together the villages of Saint-Martin, Grand-Chézard and Petit-Chézard, at the foot of the Montagne de Chézard.

Clémesin

Mountain hamlet of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz above Villiers, known for its métairie whose farmhouse dates back to 1680.

Coffrane

Val-de-Ruz village that grew from a medieval estate, recorded from 1092, scene of the battle of 1296 and home to an agricultural museum founded in 1956.

Dombresson

Street village of the Val-de-Ruz built along the Seyon, recorded from 1178 as the seat of the parish of Saint-Brice.

Engollon

Small farming village in the Val-de-Ruz on the Seyon, once the centre of a large parish, known for its church with medieval frescoes and the memory of the vanished town of La Bonneville.

Fenin

Val-de-Ruz village at the foot of Chaumont, recorded from 1191, with its Saint-Laurent church and its 16th-century manor known as « le château ».

Fontainemelon

Former farming village in the Val-de-Ruz that became, from 1793, a centre of watch movement blank (ébauche) manufacturing.

Fontaines

A village at the heart of the Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel, mentioned since 1228, known for its historic fountains and its 16th-century Gothic temple.

La Jonchère

Hamlet of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz, formerly part of Boudevilliers, mentioned in 1413 and with its own school from 1711.

La Vue-des-Alpes

Jura pass (1'283 m) and locality of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz on the former territory of Fontaines, between Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds, famous for its view of the Alps.

Le Pâquier

Small village of pastures and forests at the north-eastern end of the Val-de-Ruz, on the road from Neuchâtel to Saint-Imier, at the foot of the Chasseral.

Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane

Val-de-Ruz village at the foot of Mont Racine, once a community of francs-habergeants, later an industrial village and birthplace of Felco pruning shears.

Les Hauts-Geneveys

Val-de-Ruz village at the foot of Tête-de-Ran, once a community of francs-habergeants, later a Jura-Industriel station and gateway to the Vue-des-Alpes tunnel.

Les Vieux-Prés

Mountain hamlet of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz at 1'030 metres above Dombresson and Chézard, on the former territory of Dombresson.

Malvilliers

A hamlet of the former municipality of Boudevilliers that became a junction on the Vue-des-Alpes road, then a small health resort in the early 20th century.

Montmollin

Small village at the western end of the Val-de-Ruz, on the La Tourne road, a municipality from 1824 and a holiday resort in the early 20th century.

Saules

Small farming village in the Val-de-Ruz at the foot of Chaumont, recorded from 1269, where a Roman villa was discovered in 1989.

Savagnier

Val-de-Ruz village on the Seyon, made up of Grand-Savagnier and Petit-Savagnier, below the slope of Chaumont.

Vilars

Small farming village in the Val-de-Ruz between Fenin and Saules, recorded from 1191, which housed the shared school and administration of the three villages.

Villiers

Small village in the east of the Val-de-Ruz, at the foot of Chaumont near the source of the Seyon, long agricultural and now residential.