Neuchâtel

The Writer (L'Écrivain) is one of three automata built between 1768 and 1774 by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, his son Henri-Louis, and Jean-Frédéric Leschot. Controlled by 6,000 metal parts, it writes with a real goose quill and can be programmed to write any text up to 40 characters — often considered a remote ancestor of the modern computer. The three automata were donated to the City of Neuchâtel in 1909 and are demonstrated on the first Sunday of every month.

In 1707, the Neuchâtelois chose Protestant King Frederick I of Prussia over Catholic French claimants to rule them. From 1708 to 1806 and again 1814 to 1857, the King of Prussia ruled the Principality of Neuchâtel. On 1 March 1848, republicans seized the castle and proclaimed a republic. After the Neuchâtel Crisis of 1856-1857, which nearly triggered war, Frederick William IV signed a treaty on 26 May 1857 renouncing sovereignty — making Neuchâtel the last Swiss canton to resolve its status.

Absinthe, called 'la fée verte' (the green fairy), originated in Couvet in the Val-de-Travers. The first commercial distillery opened in 1797 by Major Dubied. At its peak some 40 distilleries operated. Switzerland banned absinthe in 1910, but Val-de-Travers never stopped distilling clandestinely. In 2005 absinthe was re-legalized. Today around 20 microdistilleries produce it in the valley, and the Maison de l'Absinthe museum in Môtiers traces its history.

Neuchâtel is the birthplace of Œil-de-Perdrix (partridge's eye), a pale rosé made from Pinot Noir, first labelled in 1861 by winemaker Louis Bovet of Areuse — considered the original Swiss rosé. The canton has 606 hectares of vines along 30 km of lakeside slopes on Jurassic limestone. Vine cultivation dates to Roman times, with the Priory of Bevaix (founded 998) planting the first documented vineyard. Pinot Noir dominates with 55% of plantings.

The site of La Tène, discovered in 1857 on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel, gave its name to the La Tène period of Celtic civilisation (c. 450 BC to 50 BC). The Laténium in Hauterive is Switzerland's largest archaeological museum, housing over 525,000 objects spanning 50,000 years. In 2003, it received the European Museum of the Year Award — the first Swiss museum so honoured. Lake Neuchâtel at 218.3 km² is the largest lake entirely within Switzerland.

Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) was professor of natural history at the University of Neuchâtel from 1832 to 1846. He built the 'Hôtel des Neuchâtelois' research hut on the Aar Glacier and in 1837 proposed the revolutionary Ice Age theory — that vast glaciers had once covered Europe. He published Études sur les glaciers in 1840. The University of Neuchâtel traces its origins to the Académie created in 1838.

On 1 March 1848, republicans led by Fritz Courvoisier and Ami Girard marched with approximately 1,000 insurgents, seized the castle, and proclaimed the République et Canton de Neuchâtel. The castle, donated in 1011 by King Rudolf III of Burgundy, combines Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles and is the oldest continuously used civil building in Switzerland. Its Romanesque south wing dates from the late 12th century.

The three Jaquet-Droz automata are The Writer (6,000 parts, writes up to 40 characters), The Draughtsman (2,000 parts, draws four images including a portrait of Louis XV), and The Musician (2,500 parts, actually plays a custom organ with her fingers). Built 1768-1774 by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz, and Jean-Frédéric Leschot from the Canton of Neuchâtel, they are still fully functional and demonstrated on the first Sunday of every month at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire.