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Villages / Fribourg / Sarine district / Quartier du Bourg

Quartier du Bourg

Site Canton of Fribourg · District: Sarine · 2'513 inhabitants (end of 2022, Bourg district, City of Fribourg)
Part of the municipality of Fribourg
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Quartier du Bourg

The Bourg bears the name of Fribourg's first district, built when the town was founded in 1157. It remains the town's historic heart.[2]

Founding of Quartier du Bourg

Berthold IV of Zähringen had his castle built on the rocky spur now occupied by the place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, and the Bourg spread over a terrace above a bend of the Sarine. The ground was divided into plots (chesaux) on an orthogonal plan. The cliffs made it unnecessary to fortify the steep sides: only the narrow ends were defended, with one gate to the east towards the Stalden and two gates to the west, fronted by bridges over a natural ditch. Until the end of the 19th century, the Grand-Rue remained the town's main artery.[1][2][4]

History of Quartier du Bourg

1157. Berthold IV of Zähringen founds the town and builds his castle on the spur of the Bourg.[1][2]

1182. The church of Saint-Nicolas dates from this year.[1]

1250. The Notre-Dame hospital is founded next to the old church of Notre-Dame.[1][4]

1256. The Franciscans (Cordeliers) settle in the district. The long choir of their church dates from around 1300.[1][3]

1283-1490. The present cathedral of Saint-Nicolas and its flamboyant Gothic tower go up.[3]

15th century. The natural ditch on the western edge of the Bourg is filled in.[2]

1501-1522. The late Gothic town hall is built.[3]

1524-1550. Hans Geiler carves the St George Fountain (1524-1525), then Hans Gieng the Samson (1547) and Valour (1549-1550) fountains.[3]

1581-1584. J. Fumal of Lyon builds the Hôtel Ratzé, which became the Museum of Art and History in 1920.[3]

1608. The Capuchins arrive, followed by the Visitation sisters, whose convent is built from 1653 to 1656.[1]

1756-1758. H. Fasel the Younger builds the old customs and salt house.[3]

1785-1787. J. A. Berchtold remodels the basilica of Notre-Dame, which receives a neoclassical façade in 1853-1854.[3]

1822. The Bourg has 23 inns, taverns, cafés and pastry shops.[1]

1834. The Grand Suspension Bridge links the Schoenberg with the rue des Bouchers and brings into the Bourg the traffic that used to pass through the Auge.[1]

1848-1852. The rue des Cordeliers is cut through.[3]

1897. L. Hertling builds the tram depot. The line runs until 1965, and the depot becomes the Espace Jean Tinguely-Niki de Saint Phalle in 1996-1998.[1][3]

1993. The rue de Lausanne becomes fully pedestrian.[1]

2014. The opening of the Poya bridge makes it possible to start redeveloping the district.[1]

2022. Restoration of the Hôtel cantonal, the former town hall, is completed.[1]

Population of Quartier du Bourg

Sources and references: [5]

Population of Quartier du Bourg
20222'513 inhabitants

Historic sites in Quartier du Bourg

Cathedral of Saint-Nicolas. Built from 1283 to 1490, with a flamboyant Gothic tower. Its polygonal choir was rebuilt from 1627 to 1631.[3]

Town hall. Late Gothic building of 1501 to 1522, on the site of the Zähringen castle, joined by the Maison de Ville (1730-1731) and a Louis XVI guardhouse (1782).[1][3]

Basilica of Notre-Dame and Cordeliers church. The basilica of Notre-Dame is among the district's cultural properties of national importance. The Cordeliers church received a Baroque nave in 1745.[2][3]

Fountains. The 16th-century St George, Samson and Valour fountains are now copies.[3]

Museums. The Museum of Art and History is housed in the Hôtel Ratzé, the Espace Jean Tinguely-Niki de Saint Phalle in the former tram depot.[1][3]

Remains in Quartier du Bourg

Zähringen castle. The founder's castle stood on the rocky spur of today's place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville.[1]

Western ditch and gates. Two gates, fronted by bridges, closed off the Bourg to the west above a natural ditch filled in during the 15th century.[2]

Sources

  1. Ville de Fribourg, page du quartier du Bourg
  2. Fribourg Région, « Quartier du Bourg »
  3. Inventaire fédéral des sites construits d'importance nationale (ISOS), « Fribourg » (ville)
  4. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Fribourg (commune) » (François Guex, Hermann Schöpfer, Alain-Jacques Czouz-Tornare), version du 04.02.2010
  5. Ville de Fribourg, « Statistiques descriptives générales 2023 », quartier du Bourg (effectif de fin 2022)

Other villages near Quartier du Bourg

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