Val-de-Travers

Val-de-Travers is a municipality in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, created on 1 January 2009 when the former municipalities of Boveresse, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Les Bayards, Môtiers, Noiraigue, Saint-Sulpice and Travers merged. It lies in a valley in the Neuchâtel Jura that connects the Swiss Plateau with Franche-Comté, and the river Areuse runs along the valley and narrows into a gorge near Noiraigue. Môtiers is the main village. The valley is first mentioned in 1150 as Vallis traversis and is known for its production of absinthe. The municipality covers 124.9 square kilometres, about half of it forested, and had 10,579 residents in December 2020. It has seven railway stations, and the La Presta asphalt mine, worked until 1986, is now a museum.