Bulle (French: [byl] ⓘ; Arpitan: Bulo[3] [ˈbylo] ⓘ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.

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.

Since these conflicts were always decided in favor of the bishop, the counts eventually lost all rights in Bulle.

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-metre-high (108 ft) 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.

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.

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.

The citizens were placed under a Fribourg appointed bailiff who ruled over the former episcopal lands from the castle in Bulle.

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.

After the failure of the uprising, several members of the movement went into exile in Paris and founded the Helvétique Club.

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.

During the entire 19th century Bulle was often in sharp opposition to the conservative cantonal government during the Restoration (1814–1830).

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.

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, ( brief civil war where a group of cantons unhappy with domination by Bern attempted to leave the Swiss Confederation and were stopped by a Federal army) the new Cantonal Constitution of 1848 made Bulle the capital of the Gruyère district.

[4] 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.

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.

It is located on a hill at an elevation of 770 meters (2,530 ft) above the left side of the Trême river.

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][14] The Notre-Dame De Compassion Chapel, the Baillival Castle, the Halle Landi and the Gruérien Museum are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[15] Downtown Bulle is made up of many shops and offices, a train/bus station (TPF) (with regular service to nearby Fribourg), and an old château that was converted into a prison.

In the tertiary sector; 1,631 or 32.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 319 or 6.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 452 or 9.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 70 or 1.4% were in the information industry, 472 or 9.4% were the insurance or financial industry, 517 or 10.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 471 or 9.4% were in education and 492 or 9.8% were in health care.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs.

After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship.