Neuchâtel

Neuchâtel (UK: /ˌnɜːʃæˈtɛl/, US: /-ʃɑːˈ-, ˌnjuːʃəˈ-, ˌnʊʃɑːˈ-/; French: [nøʃɑtɛl] ^ⓘ; German: Neuenburg [ˈnɔʏənbʊrɡ] ^ⓘ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, the city has approximately 45,000 inhabitants (86,000 in the metropolitan area). The city is sometimes referred to historically by the German name Neuenburg; both the French and German names mean 'New Castle'.

The castle after which the city is named was built by Rudolph III of Burgundy and completed in 1011. Originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy, the city was absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. The domain of the counts of Neuchâtel was first referred to as a city in 1214. The city came under Prussian control from 1707 until 1848, with an interruption during the Napoleonic Wars from 1806 to 1814. In 1848, Neuchâtel became a republic and a canton of Switzerland.

Neuchâtel is a centre of the Swiss watch industry, the site of micro-technology and high-tech industries, and home to research centres and organizations such as the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), and Philip Morris International's Cube.

Neuchâtel is a medieval toponym derived from the Old French: neu "new" (Modern French neuf) and châtel "castle" (now château) in reference to the 10th century Neuchâtel Castle. In French, most adjectives, when used attributively, appear after their nouns; however, the leading position of the adjective is a phenomenon widely attested in the north and east of France, as well as in Belgium and in French-speaking Switzerland (Romandy). As with the various other places named Neuchâtel, Neufchâtel, Neufchâteau of northern France and Belgium, this reflects the Germanic influence on Gallo-Romance languages retained in the toponymy today. This contrasts with the Occitan Castelnaus (and the Frenchified Châteauneufs) in the south of France.

The German name for the town is Neuenburg, which also translates roughly as "new castle". The longer form Neuenburg am See ("Newcastle by the lake") is sometimes used to disambiguate it from the numerous other Neuenburgs, especially Neuenburg am Rhein. The Romansh language uses the French Neuchâtel, and occasionally Neuschatel and Neufchâtel; contemporary Italian largely uses the French name as well, but occasionally the historic Neocastello is seen.

Regionally, the Romand (Arpitan) name for the town is Nôchâtél in the broad Orthographe de référence B and is pronounced N'tchati [n̩.t͡ʃa.ˈti] locally, N'tchatai [n̩.t͡ʃa.ˈtai] in La Sagne, N'tchaté [n̩.t͡ʃa.ˈte] in Les Planchettes and Nchaté [n̩.ʃa.ˈte] or Ntchaté in Les Éplatures [fr].

The Neo-Latin name for Neuchâtel is the Greek-derived Neocomum, and this gives the adjective neocomensis which appears on the seal of the University of Neuchâtel (in Universitas Neocomensis Helvetiorum) and the English adjective Neocomian, a term for a former stratigraphic stage of the Early Cretaceous. Other Latin names seen historically include Novum castellum in 1011 (upon the presentation of Neuchâtel Castle by Rudolph III of Burgundy to his wife Ermengarde) and Novum Castrum in 1143.

Historic French names included Nuefchastel (attested in 1251), Neufchastel (1338), and Neufchatel, with modern Neuchâtel in use by 1750. In the Franche-Comté, the city was also called Neuchâtel-outre-Joux ("Neuchâtel beyond Joux") to distinguish it from another Neuchâtel in that region, now called Neuchâtel-Urtière.