Bourguillon
Origin of the name Bourguillon
The place appears in 1252 as « Burgillon », later also as « in Monticulo ». In German it is called Bürglen.[1][2]
Founding of Bourguillon
Bourguillon sits on a hill overlooking the Sarine and the town of Fribourg, an outpost of the town founded in 1157. A leper house, the « maladeire », was founded here in 1275 (or around the mid 13th century), probably by the town. In the Middle Ages, citizens with leprosy had to live here, outside the walls. The leper house's chapel, dedicated to the Virgin, became a regional pilgrimage site by the 15th century at the latest. The hamlet grew up around it, on a triangular network of lanes, between two manor houses.[1][2][3][4]
History of Bourguillon
Mesolithic. Flints from this period have been found at Bourguillon.[4]
1252. First mention of the place, as « Burgillon ».[1][2]
1275. Foundation of the leper house, which later serves as a hospital and hospice.[1]
Early 15th century. By this time at the latest, a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de Bourguillon develops. The statue dates from the third quarter of the 14th century (or from 1466).[1][3][4]
1433. A Gothic chapel replaces a small Romanesque sanctuary, probably attached to the leper house. It is pulled down soon after.[1][2][3]
1464-1466. Pierre Rono builds the Gothic chapel. Its choir and molasse bell tower survive in the present chapel.[1][2][3]
Early 16th century. A chaplain, then a rector, serve the chapel.[1]
1543-1554. The leper house is rebuilt after 1543, and the chaplaincy goes up just to the west in 1554.[2]
1576. Pierre Odet builds the château, enlarged in 1656 by Protais d'Alt.[2]
1659. A sacristy is added on the north side of the chapel.[1][3]
1738. The Bonne-Maison is restored. In the 18th century it serves as a hospice for poor prebendaries and a hospital for the incurable.[2]
1759-1761. The chapel's nave is raised and remodelled in Baroque style, with large windows.[1][2][3]
1838. The leper house closes for good. Sold to a private owner, it is pulled down to make way for the Trois-Tours inn, probably designed by Joseph de Raemy and opened in 1840.[1][2]
1840. A new cantonal road crosses the Gottéron on a suspension bridge and joins the Beau-Chemin near the chaplaincy.[2]
1872. Bourguillon, which belonged to the parish of Tafers (Tavel), passes to the parish of Saint-Nicolas in Fribourg.[1]
Early 20th century. The place is a much-loved walk for the town's inhabitants.[2]
1932-1953. The former manor, now the Salve Regina boarding school, receives two wings, in 1932-1933 and 1952-1953.[2]
1956-1960. The Gottéron bridge is rebuilt in reinforced concrete by the engineer H. Gicot.[2]
1984. The remains of the Romanesque chapel are uncovered. The chapel is restored in the 1980s.[1][2]
Historic sites in Bourguillon
Chapel of Notre-Dame de Bourguillon. Gothic and Baroque pilgrimage chapel, surrounded by a walled cemetery. It keeps the choir and bell tower of 1464-1466, the sacristy of 1659 and the nave remodelled in 1759-1761, as well as the statue of the Virgin.[1][2][3]
Former chaplaincy. Small cubic building of 1554, with a gable of dressed molasse, west of the chapel.[2]
Hôtel des Trois-Tours. Long neoclassical building of nine bays, with a mansard roof and a terrace shaded by chestnut trees, built in 1839 on the site of the leper house.[1][2]
Château de Diesbach and Salve Regina boarding school. The château, a late Gothic manor, dominates the hill with its garden and round pond. The school occupies a manor of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, enclosed by a long garden wall.[1][2]
Porte de Bourguillon. Gate in Fribourg's town wall, from the second half of the 14th or first quarter of the 15th century, with a helmet-shaped roof. A mid 16th-century crucifix stands beside it.[2]
Remains in Bourguillon
Leper house. The maladeire, founded in the 13th century, closed and demolished in 1838. The Trois-Tours inn took its place.[1][2][3]
Romanesque chapel. Small sanctuary older than 1433, probably attached to the leper house, found again in 1984.[1][2][3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Bourguillon » (Peter F. Kopp), version du 09.07.2003
- Inventaire fédéral des sites construits d'importance nationale (ISOS), « Bourguillon » (2003)
- Fribourg Région, « Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Bourguillon »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Fribourg (commune) » (François Guex, Hermann Schöpfer, Alain-Jacques Czouz-Tornare), version du 04.02.2010
Other villages near Bourguillon
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