Bulle - History

History

Bulle is first mentioned in the 9th century as Butulum. In 1200 it was mentioned as Bollo. The municipality was formerly known by its German name Boll, however, that name is no longer used.

Very little is known about the early history of the Bulle area. In 1995, a large grave mound from the early Hallstatt period was partially excavated. The grave mound lies about 300 m (980 ft) from the hill on which the church was later built. During the Early Middle Ages it was the home of a parish church that covered a large parish. This Church of St. Eusebius was probably built in the 6th or 7th century by the Bishop of Lausanne. The church is mentioned several times between 852-875. In the 9th century, the parish was split into several independent parishes. As the parish shrunk in size, the church gradually lost its former importance, but it remained the center of the Decanate of Ogo until the 16th century. The deanery covered the whole Saanen valley to Treyvaux, the Jaun and Sionge valleys and extended west to Glâne. Bulle probably came under the secular power of the Bishop of Lausanne as early as the 6th century, and together with Avenches and Curtilles formed the territory originally owned by the bishop.

Since the counts of Gruyères also possessed sovereign rights in Bulle, there were numerous conflicts between the counts and the bishop in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. Since these conflicts were always decided in favor of the bishop, the counts eventually lost all rights in Bulle. Even by the 12th century, Bulle was an important regional economic center. In 1195/96, Count Rudolph closed the market in Gruyère and extended his support to the older market in Bulle. At that time, the town was a collection of homesteads, which surrounded a church and maybe had a castle near them. In the 13th Century the bishops recognized that the town was crucial to their income and to administer and defend the surrounding region. Bishop Boniface erected a city wall surrounding a rectangular town with two lanes and four rows of houses in 1231-39. A little later, possibly under the episcopate of William de Champvent (1273–1301), the castle was built was in the southeast of the city. The main building of the castle was a 33 m (108 ft) high tower that dominated the south gate and the surrounding plain. Throughout the Middle Ages, the bishops appointed two officers, the castellan and the mayor to rule the town. Throughout the 13th to 15th centuries, the noble de Bulle family held the office of mayor. Although citizens of Bulle are mentioned in 1195/96, they first had an organization in the 14th century testifies. Starting at end of the 12th century, individual freedoms, rights and privileges were often conferred on the citizens of the town and in general the citizens of Bulle had the same privileges as citizens in Lausanne. Starting around 1350, many of the towns in the Saanen valley between Gruyere and Arconciel lost most of their historic importance and population. However, due to Bulle's favorable location, its infrastructure and the support of the bishops, it remained an important regional center. It was also able to recover quickly from a devastating fire in 1447.

A turning point in the Bulle's history was during the Burgundian Wars. On 16 January 1476 it entered into an alliance with the city of Fribourg. Due to the treaty, it was not plundered by the victorious Swiss after the Battle of Murten (22 June 1476). In 1536, as the Bernese conquered the Vaud, Bishop Sébastien de Montfalcon fled from Lausanne to Fribourg and placed himself and Bulle under the protection of that city. With Fribourg's protection, Bulle was able to remain Catholic. However, the protection of Fribourg was transformed into domination in 1537. The citizens were placed under a Fribourg appointed bailiff who ruled over the former episcopal lands from the castle in Bulle.

The period from 1536 to 1798 was reasonably quiet. The town expanded slightly beyond the city walls near the upper gate. While it was politically powerless, it became a economic center for cheese production and trade. It was the hub for most cheeses that wereexported to France. In the 17th Century the chapel and the statue erected in her (Notre-Dame de Pitié or de Compassion) became a pilgrimage destination. In 1665 the Capuchins took over the property, enlarged and embellished the chapel and built convent buildings on the site of the hospital. The hospital moved to the vicinity of the upper gate. The shrine attracted many pilgrims from the Counties of Burgundy and Savoy. In the 18th century, its popularity began to slowly wane. In 1750-51 a new building replaced the parish church of Saint-Pierre aux Liens, which had become too small. In 1763-68, the bailiff's quarters and the audience hall in the castle were expanded and renovated.

Starting at the end of the 18th century, Bulle became important in the cantonal government. Pierre-Nicolas Chenaux, who led a popular uprising against the Ancien Régime government in Fribourg in 1781, held meetings before the uprising in Bulle. After the failure of the uprising, several members of the movement went into exile in Paris and founded the Helvétique Club. During the 1798 French invasion many of the residents of Bulle joined the revolutionary cause. By 26 January, a liberty tree was raised in front of the castle and the citizens had selected an oversight committee and drove the governor out of the city. Bulle would have gladly joined the French-supported Lemanic Republic, but after the march elections it became part of the Helvetic Republic's Canton of Fribourg. Under Fribourg, the town of Gruyere was chosen as the seat of the district, instead of Bulle. Bulle also became deeply indebted during the French occupation of 1798-1802. It became a staging post for troops marching from the north into Italy and had to pay for both troops stationed in Bulle as well as troops marching through its lands.

On 2 April 1805 an enormous fire destroyed almost the entire city. It was quickly rebuilt, and most of the medieval streets were retained. However, one of the four rows of houses was not rebuilt to make room for a large marketplace. The town granary was quickly rebuilt, followed by the town hall in 1808, and the rebuilt church in 1816.

During the entire 19th century Bulle was often in sharp opposition to the conservative cantonal government during the Restoration (1814–30). They supported a liberal cantonal constitution during the Regeneration movement that prevailed in 1831. After 1840 the Conservatives gained back power in the cantonal government, which gave new impetus to the radical opposition, and Bulle was one of its most important centers. In January 1847 there was an open rebellion in Bulle. On 6 January 1847 the mayor was imprisoned in the castle. Three days later, on 9 January, an armed group marched from Bulle toward Fribourg, but returned to the town when they were only half way there. Following the Sonderbund War, the new Cantonal Constitution of 1848 made Bulle the capital of the Gruyère district. During the 1853 elections, which punished the radicals for their political excesses, the city was the scene of violence. Violent clashes in Bulle between radicals and conservatives lasted the entire 19th century. At the same time both parties were trying to distinguish themselves with ambitious projects. The radicals built a rail line between Bulle and Romont, established the Banque Populaire de la Gruyère in 1853, opened the radical "La Gruyère" newspaper in 1882 and in 1893 their own electric company. The Conservatives gave the "Le Fribourgeois" paper in 1867, opened the Crédit Gruyérien bank in 1867 and built the Chemins de fer de la Gruyère électriques in 1903-12.

From the mid-19th Century to 1970, the Radical party possessed a majority in the town council, while the Conservatives were always in the minority. In 1948, the Socialists gained two seats, which they lost in 1950, but won again in 1958 and 1966. Between 1970-1996 the council consisted of four Radicals, three Socialists and Social Democrats, and two Christian Democrats. During the Second World War, Bulle was the site of a major riot, the Bulle Riot. On 23 November 1944, five federal inspectors, who were investigating the illicit trade in meat, were attacked by a mob and forced to flee to the castle (which was the district administration building) for safety. In October 1945 the Federal Court met in Fribourg, and in the presence of the entire Swiss press handed down fourteen convictions for the rioters.