Bulle

On 2 April 1805, an enormous fire swept through Bulle and destroyed almost the entire town in a few hours -- the greatest fire in the history of the Canton of Fribourg. More than a thousand inhabitants were ruined. An outpouring of solidarity from the cantons of Zurich, Vaud, Bern, Neuchatel, Valais, and Geneva funded the relief effort. The reconstruction lasted half a century and transformed Bulle: wide, straight streets radiated from a new central square, giving the town a distinctive star shape with unified neoclassical facades.

The Chateau de Bulle was built starting in 1291 under Bishop Guillaume de Champvent to defend against the rival Counts of Gruyere and of Savoy. Its donjon rises 33 meters and follows a carre savoyard plan. Just 5 km away, the Chateau de Gruyeres was built between 1270 and 1282 as the seat of the Counts of Gruyere, who ruled for nineteen generations. In 1554, the last count, Michel de Gruyere, went bankrupt, and his lands were divided between the cantons of Fribourg and Bern.

In the Fribourg dialect, 'poya' describes the ritual montee a l'alpage -- the seasonal driving of cattle up to the high mountain pastures. Since the early 19th century, paintings depicting this tradition have adorned farmhouse facades in the Gruyere region. Sylvestre Pidoux (1800-1871), born in Vuadens near Bulle, is considered the first poya painter; his compositions from around 1850 set the enduring template. Approximately 800 poyas have been counted in the Gruyere region, with about fifteen active painters still creating them today.

The Benichon (from Latin benedictio; German: Kilbi) is a centuries-old harvest festival unique to the Canton of Fribourg, considered by many Fribourgeois as more important than Christmas. The traditional menu is a legendary feast lasting six hours or more, featuring cuchaule (a golden saffron brioche), moutarde de Benichon (a sweet-spicy spread with vin cuit and star anise), lamb stew with raisins, poires a Botzi (small pears poached in spiced wine syrup), bricelets (thin wafer cookies), and meringues with double cream. In the lowlands including Bulle, the Benichon falls on the second Sunday of September.

Pierre-Nicolas Chenaux (1740-1781), born in La Tour-de-Treme near Bulle, led the most significant popular revolt in the history of the Canton of Fribourg. On 29 April 1781, he assembled some 2,500 men at the Auberge de l'Epee Couronnee in Bulle and marched on the city of Fribourg to challenge the patrician oligarchy. Bern sent cavalry and artillery to rout the insurgents. Chenaux was captured and executed on 5 May 1781. On 24 September 1933, a bronze statue by sculptor Carl Angst was erected in Bulle. Chenaux is honored as a precursor of the democratic movements that transformed Switzerland in the 19th century.

The Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens in Bulle was rebuilt after the devastating fire of 1805 and consecrated on 22 September 1816. Its great organ was built by Aloys Mooser of Fribourg, the same builder who created the celebrated organ in Fribourg's Cathedrale Saint-Nicolas. Mooser added an innovative Echo keyboard whose pipes speak from the narthex, creating a striking effect of spatial distance that was widely imitated. Two cannons purchased from the State of Fribourg were melted down to cast the church's six bells. The organ was restored by Hans Fuglister in 1976.

Le Moleson (2,002 m) is the emblematic mountain of the Gruyere region, visible from Bulle. It is accessible by funicular from Moleson-sur-Gruyeres to Plan-Francey (1,520 m) and then by aerial cableway to the summit, where a 360-degree panorama reveals the Bernese Alps, Lake Geneva, Mont Blanc, and the Jura. Bulle sits at 770 meters at the foot of the Fribourg Pre-Alps, serving as the capital of the Gruyere district and the second-largest town in the Canton of Fribourg.

The production of cheese in the Gruyere region can be traced to 1115. The name 'Gruyere' became officially recognized in the 17th century and entered the Academie francaise dictionary in 1762. Gruyere received AOP status in 2011 at the European level. The last Count of Gruyere, Michel de Gruyere, faced lifelong financial difficulties and was declared bankrupt in 1554. His creditors, the cantons of Fribourg and Bern, divided his earldom. The cheese is matured in caves d'affinage for between 5 and 18 months.