Bulle
Origin of the name Bulle
The place is called « Butulum » in the 9th century, « Bollo » in 1200 and « Bullo » around 1225. The old German name is « Boll ». No explanation of the name has been put forward.[1]
Founding of Bulle
Bulle grew up on the left bank of the Trême, at 770 m at the foot of the Prealps, at the crossroads of the routes to Fribourg, Vevey, Romont, the Jogne valley and the Pays-d'Enhaut. Its church of Saint Eusebius, probably founded by a bishop of Lausanne between the 6th and the 8th century, remained the mother church of the deanery of Ogo until the 16th century. With Avenches and Curtilles the place formed an episcopal curtis, perhaps from the 6th century. From the 12th to the 14th century the bishops of Lausanne and the counts of Gruyère disputed it, and the bishops prevailed. No charter of franchises has been found, but the burghers enjoyed liberties from the end of the 12th century and followed the custom of Lausanne. The present municipality was created in 2006 by the merger of Bulle with La Tour-de-Trême.[1]
History of Bulle
852-875. The church of Saint Eusebius is attested.[1]
1195-1196. Count Rudolf of Gruyère acknowledges the antiquity of the Bulle market. The burghers are mentioned for the first time.[1]
1231-1239. Under Bishop Boniface a rampart encloses the town in a rectangular plan.[1]
around 1273-1301. Bishop William of Champvent has the castle and its 33 m keep built.[1]
1447. A fire destroys a large part of the town.[1]
1476. On 16 January Bulle concludes a treaty of co-citizenship with Fribourg, which spares it from looting after the battle of Murten.[1]
1536. During the Bernese occupation of the Pays de Vaud, Bishop Sébastien de Montfalcon advises the people of Bulle to seek the protection of Fribourg.[1]
1537. Protection becomes sovereignty, and the castle becomes the seat of a Fribourg bailiwick.[1]
1665. The Capuchins receive the shrine of Notre-Dame-de-Compassion.[1]
1750-1751. The church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens is rebuilt.[1]
1780. A Latin school is founded.[1]
1781. Pierre-Nicolas Chenaux holds meetings in Bulle. After the movement fails, exile leads to the founding of the Club helvétique in Paris.[1]
1798. The liberty tree is planted on 26 January. Until 1802 the French occupation weighs heavily on the town.[1]
1805. On 2 April a huge fire destroys almost the whole town. The town hall is completed in 1808 and the parish church consecrated in 1816.[1]
1848. Bulle becomes the capital of the district of Gruyère.[1]
1855. The secondary school of the Gruyère opens.[1]
1868. The Bulle-Romont railway opens. In the 1880s the October fairs bring together 3'000 to 4'000 head of cattle.[1]
1944. On 23 November the « émeute de Bulle » (Bulle riot) breaks out. The federal criminal court hands down 14 convictions in October 1945.[1]
1981. The A12 motorway is completed.[1]
2006. Bulle merges with La Tour-de-Trême, which lies mostly on the right bank of the Trême.[1]
Population of Bulle
Sources and references: [1][3]
| end of the Middle Ages | 600 approximately |
| 1811 | 1'165 |
| 1850 | 1'833 |
| 1900 | 3'330 |
| 1950 | 5'255 |
| 1970 | 7'556 |
| 2000 | 11'149 |
| 2010 | 17'826 (with La Tour-de-Trême) |
| 2020 | 23'180 |
| 2025 | 27'276 |
Historic sites in Bulle
Castle. Built around 1273-1301 for Bishop William of Champvent, with a 33 m keep, it became the seat of the Fribourg bailiff in 1537. The bailiff's apartment and the audience hall were fitted out in 1763-1768. Castle of the bishops of Lausanne, then bailiff's residence and prefecture, it is listed as a cultural property of national importance.[1][2]
Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens. Rebuilt in 1750-1751, the parish church was consecrated again in 1816, after the fire of 1805. It is on the inventory of cultural property (category B).[1][2]
Capuchin friary and chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Compassion. The chapel, next to the hospital founded around 1350, draws a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, or de Compassion. The Capuchins received it in 1665. The ensemble is listed as a cultural property of national importance.[1][2]
Town hall. Completed in 1808, after the fire, it is on the inventory of cultural property (category B), as are the archives of the Town of Bulle that it houses.[1][2]
Musée gruérien. The museum and the public library opened in 1978. The Musée gruérien is listed as a cultural property of national importance.[1][2]
Covered market and Espace Gruyère. The covered bull market dates from 1910 (or 1908). The Espace Gruyère followed in 1998.[1]
Remains in Bulle
Hallstatt tumulus. A large early Hallstatt tumulus was excavated in 1995, about 300 m from the church mound. Traces of Gallo-Roman occupation have also been found.[1]
Rampart and gates. The rampart built between 1231 and 1239 gave the town its rectangular plan. The lower gate (porte d'En-Bas) was demolished in 1805, the upper gate (porte d'En-Haut) in 1837.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Bulle (commune) » (Denis Buchs, version du 26.09.2016)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : Liste cantonale Canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)
- Service de la statistique du canton de Fribourg (SStat), « Population des communes, de 1900 à 2025 » (T01-02-03), population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Bulle
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