Place · Switzerland
The history of Bulle, one place at a time
Assembled from 2 dug tiles · 22 sourced records · last reviewed 19 September 2026
Bulle, first named in the 9th century, grew around a fortress the bishops of Lausanne raised between 1291 and 1331. Built to a Savoy-style plan in a town that never belonged to Savoy, the castle passed to Fribourg's rule in 1536 when the bishop fled the invading Bernese army.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Bulle — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Bulle
The bishop fled and Fribourg took his castleAn episcopal fortress thirty seconds from where you stand changed hands the day its builder ran. 19 Chemin de Bouleyres
852–2019 Built like Savoy, held against it
A castle raised by the bishops of Lausanne stood 300 feet from where you are, in a town that never once belonged to Savoy. 19 Chemin de Bouleyres
100 BC–1917
Bulle in layers
Roman period
A Gallo-Roman villa with an attached medieval cemetery stood at A la Lêvra, a little over a kilometer from here, occupied from around 100 BC through the end of Roman rule. Wikidata
The Stade de Bouleyres, a 5,000-seat stadium a few streets away, is the home ground of FC Bulle. Wikipedia: Stade de Bouleyres
852 AD
Bulle appears in records as Butulum, its name centuries before the castle or the market square existed. FamilySearch / OpenHistoricalMap
9th century
The town by this ground appears in early records as 'Butulum,' with Bulle itself first named in official record around 852 AD. FamilySearch
1066–1540
Bulle's old town, from roughly 1066 to 1540, is registered as a class A Swiss cultural property of national significance, sitting 360 meters from where you stand. Wikidata
1271-2005
La Tour-de-Trême was its own municipality from 1271 until Bulle incorporated it in January 2006. FamilySearch
1291–1331
Between 1291 and 1331 the bishops of Lausanne built this bailiff's castle at the south edge of the market place, using the square Savoy floor plan. Wikipedia: Baillival Castle (Bulle)
1291–1331
The Baillival Castle, built by the bishops of Lausanne from 1291 to 1331 on the square floor plan favored by the House of Savoy, stands about 300 meters from you and later served as bailiff's residence and prefecture. Wikipedia
1418
Antoine de Challant, a Savoyard cleric born in 1350, died in Bulle in 1418. Wikidata
from 1761
The road running past the old town, Rue de Gruyères, is mapped from 1761 onward as one of Bulle's early streets. OpenHistoricalMap
from 1761
Bulle's Grand-Rue, the main street of the old town, is recorded from 1761. OpenHistoricalMap
2 April 1805
On 2 April 1805 a fire tore through Bulle, spreading fast on wooden roof tiles, and it reached the ground around Chemin de Bouleyres where you stand; rebuilding took the town half a century. Fribourg.ch - La Gruyère
1817–1864
Nicolas Glasson, born in Bulle in 1817, worked as a Swiss politician, journalist and judge before dying there in 1864. Wikidata
1840–1893
Joseph Schorderet, a Swiss Catholic priest, was born in Bulle in 1840 and died in 1893. Wikidata
1859
Jacques Joseph Remy, a Swiss judge born in 1811, died in Bulle in 1859. Wikidata
19th–20th century
Bulle railway station, half a kilometer away, grew into the junction of the Bulle–Romont, Bulle–Broc and Palézieux–Bulle–Montbovon lines, all run by Transports publics Fribourgeois. Wikipedia
1912-1913
The Chemins de fer électriques de la Gruyère built the Bulle–Broc line in 1912, and the La Tour-de-Trême station opened the next year on 29 the following spring. Wikipedia: La Tour-de-Trême railway station
1917
A local artist and journalist, Victor Tissot, left his estate to Bulle so the town could build a museum, which opened in 1917. Wikipedia: Musée gruérien
1917
Victor Tissot, a local artist and journalist, left his estate to Bulle to found a museum, which opened in 1917 about 240 meters from here and now holds the region's ethnography and history. Wikipedia
1981
An aerial photograph from 1981 shows the Château de Bulle standing over the old town's rooftops. PastVu
1981
A 1981 photograph shows the market square near the castle much as older residents remember it. PastVu
until 2019
Bulle's railway station, junction of three lines, stood south of its current site until it was moved in 2019. Wikipedia: Bulle railway station
Questions about Bulle
What is Bulle known for historically?
Bulle is known for the Baillival Castle, built by the bishops of Lausanne between 1291 and 1331 on a Savoy-style square plan, even though Bulle itself never came under Savoy rule. The castle later served as bailiff's residence, prefecture, and from 1854 as a canton prison.
What happened at Bulle's castle in 1536?
In 1536, Bishop Sébastien de Montfalcon fled Bulle as the Bernese army invaded, and the city of Fribourg, which had long protected the town, took direct rule of the castle in his place.
Who built the castle at Bulle and when?
The bishops of Lausanne built the Baillival Castle in Bulle between 1291 and 1331, raising it on a square plan modelled on Savoy fortresses despite Bulle lying outside Savoy's territory.
What is 19 Chemin de Bouleyres in Bulle?
It is a site roughly 300 feet from the Castle of the bishops of Lausanne, close enough that the castle's building, its later use as bailiff's residence and prefecture, and its conversion into a canton prison from 1854 all belong to the same stretch of ground.
When was Bulle first recorded?
Bulle was first named in the 9th century, according to FamilySearch records.