Bulle

27km/17mi south of Fribourg, on the left bank of the Trême, is Bulle (alt. 769 m/2,523ft; pop.7,700), chief town and commercial and cultural heart of the Gruyères district and one of the most important traffic junctions in the canton of Fribourg. From 1196 to 1537 this small market town belonged to the bishops of Lausanne, who built a massive castle here in the 13th C. The town was rebuilt after fires in 1447 and 1805. It has preserved a number of fine old buildings - the parish church (Protestant), rebuilt in 1751, the Capuchin friary and the Town Hall.