International Museum of Horology, Technology museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
The International Museum of Horology is a museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds devoted to time and time-measuring instruments. Its building, designed by Pierre Zoelly and Georges-J. Haefeli and built between 1972 and 1974, is excavated into the slope of a park: a concrete structure of 20,000 m3 arranged over three underground levels, with glazed openings onto the park. The collection numbers around 10,000 objects, including clocks, watches, marine and deck chronometers, automata, tools and machines.
The museum's foundation deed was signed on 24 March 1902, after Maurice Picard pushed for a public museum; it opened in the watchmaking school building. The collection had been assembled since 1865 for teaching, and the museum was enlarged in 1907, 1952 and 1967. In 1967 the city created the Fondation Maurice Favre to fund a new building, and the name Musée international d'horlogerie was adopted in 1968. The new building opened in 1974.
Timekeeping craftsmanship shaped the identity of this region for centuries, making precision engineering a source of community pride. The collections show how this tradition remains woven into local life and values.
The building is dug into the slope of a park, with three underground levels linked by ramps and changes of level; the entrance, the astronomical gallery and the restoration workshops open onto the park through large glazed walls. The monumental carillon by Onelio Vignando stands on the forecourt, where its mobile elements, sound and light are set in motion at regular intervals by a master clock.
A monumental carillon by Onelio Vignando (1980) stands on the museum forecourt: a structure 14 m long and 9 m high on stainless-steel tubes, driven by a master clock and animated at regular intervals with bell sounds, moving elements and light. It was meant to make the forecourt a meeting point in the park.
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