La Vue-des-Alpes
Origin of the name La Vue-des-Alpes
Name origin: the pass takes its name from the panoramic view it offers of the Alps.
Founding of La Vue-des-Alpes
La Vue-des-Alpes is a pass in the Neuchâtel Jura at 1'283 metres above sea level, on the road between Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds, and a small inhabited locality of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz. Before the merger of 1 January 2013, the pass formed one of the two mountain enclaves of the former municipality of Fontaines; the hotel-restaurant stands on a plot of the Fontaines land register. The surroundings also belonged to other former municipalities of the Val-de-Ruz, such as Fontainemelon for Les Loges, on the pass road. The place developed with the road opened at the beginning of the 19th century, then with the hotel built in 1902.
History of La Vue-des-Alpes
1806. First alignment of the pass road; it is still visible at Les Loges, beside the alignments of 1947 and the present road.
1902. Construction of the Hôtel de La Vue-des-Alpes.
1947. New alignment of the pass road.
1994. Inauguration of the Vue-des-Alpes road tunnel, which spares through traffic the pass road.
1995. The hotel is enlarged with a concrete extension.
1997. Four stained-glass windows by Jacques Minala are installed in the chapel of La Vue-des-Alpes.
2013. Fontaines merges with thirteen other municipalities to form the municipality of Val-de-Ruz.
2018-2021. The private owners look in vain for an operator for the hotel-restaurant.
2022. The hotel-restaurant closes in April; on 15 November, the municipality of Val-de-Ruz acquires the plot of the hotel and its outbuilding.
2025. At the end of the year, the « Vue-des-Alpes 360 » association is founded to promote the sustainable development of the site.
2026. In March, a boiler-related fire damages the technical rooms of the hotel under renovation, with no injuries; after more than 8 million francs of renovation, reopening is announced for 29 April.
Historic sites in La Vue-des-Alpes
The pass and its panorama. In clear weather the pass offers the view of the Alps that gave it its name; it marks the crossing between the Val-de-Ruz and La Chaux-de-Fonds.
The Hôtel de La Vue-des-Alpes. Hotel of 1902 enlarged in 1995, owned by the municipality of Val-de-Ruz since 2022 and renovated with 20 rooms, a 110-seat restaurant, seminar rooms, a spa and a tourist information point.
The chapel. It houses four stained-glass windows made in 1997 by Jacques Minala.
Remains in La Vue-des-Alpes
The old alignments at Les Loges. At Les Loges, on the pass road, three parallel alignments of paths and roads can still be made out: that of 1806, that of 1947 and the present road.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Fontaines » (Maurice Evard)
- Wikipédia, « Col de la Vue des Alpes »
- Commune de Val-de-Ruz, « À voir ou visiter »
- Commune de Val-de-Ruz, rapport R23.021 au Conseil général sur l'exploitation de l'hôtel-restaurant de La Vue-des-Alpes (séance du 14.12.2023)
- Batimag, « L'hôtel de La Vue-des-Alpes passera en mains communales pour se relancer » (7.11.2022)
- Batimag, « La Vue-des-Alpes se relance par la modernisation de son hôtel » (27.11.2024)
- La Télé, « Incendie sur le chantier de l'hôtel de La Vue-des-Alpes » (6.3.2026)
- La Télé, « Journée portes ouvertes pour l'hôtel de La Vue-des-Alpes » (15.4.2026)
- geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de lieux (swisstopo)
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 4 février 2026 homologuant le recensement cantonal de la population au 31 décembre 2025
Other villages near La Vue-des-Alpes
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