- published: 20 Feb 2014
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Neuchâtel (French pronunciation: [nøʃatɛl]), Old French: neu(f) "new" + chatel "castle" (French: château)) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel.
The city has as of December 2007[update] approximately 32,600 inhabitants (80,000 in the agglomeration), by and large French-speaking, although the city is sometimes referred to historically by the German name Neuenburg (help·info), which has the same meaning, since it originally belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and later Prussia ruled the area until 1848.
Neuchâtel is a pilot of the Council of Europe and the European Commission Intercultural cities programme.
Neuchâtel has an area, as of 2009[update], of 18.1 square kilometers (7.0 sq mi). Of this area, 1.84 km2 (0.71 sq mi) or 10.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.74 km2 (3.76 sq mi) or 53.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.42 km2 (2.48 sq mi) or 35.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km2 (7.4 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.