Tower of La Tour-de-Trême, Fortified tower in Bulle, Switzerland
The château de La Tour-de-Trême is a square stone tower with a steep pyramidal roof, standing on a rocky outcrop in Bulle. Its rough grey masonry is pierced by small openings, and two round clock dials sit high on the visible faces, while a leafy tree partly hides the lower half of the front.
The tower was built by the counts of Gruyères as an outpost facing Bulle, and it is first mentioned in 1271. It was burned by Bernese troops in 1349, and after a fire in 1807 it was given to the commune and later fitted with a clock.
The tower appears on the coat of arms of the former commune of La Tour-de-Trême, shown as a stone keep. It also inspired local poets, who called it the watchful eye of the county, and its image still stands for the village's identity.
The tower is easy to spot from the road below, but the rock it stands on is steep and there is no formal path to the top. For a closer look at the masonry and clock faces, find a spot on the street where the tree does not block the view.
The tower's walls are up to almost 2 meters thick at the base, which helped it survive the fires that destroyed the rest of the castle. It later served as the town archive between 1852 and 1905, before the documents were moved to the new school.
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