Echarlens: Plateau, Legend Trail and Sacred Art

Echarlens lies in the Gruyère region near Bulle and 24 km from Fribourg. The village sits on a relatively broad plateau overlooking Lake Gruyère to the west. The terrain is gently undulating; to the northeast, a partly wooded ridge shapes the landscape near the Sionge’s mouth at the lake. The road layout also helps orient visitors: Echarlens lies between two cantonal roads that connect Fribourg and Bulle on either side of the Saane and converge just before Riaz. Woodland shapes both parts of Echarlens’s landscape and the character of the walking trail.

Walking Trail and Landscape

The “Au pays des Légendes de La Gruyère” walking trail offers a circular route of about 3 km, starting in Echarlens or Vuippens. More than 20 illustrated legends can be read along the route, which follows paths and forest trails. The legends give the walk a storytelling theme. Anyone wishing to combine a walk with regional stories can follow this theme.

Le Gringalet is 20 metres tall and is also known as the “Tree of the Druids.”

Sacred History and Art

The 1670 Saint-Garin Chapel is a Baroque fragment of Echarlens’s sacred landscape. Its Baroque altarpiece contains a panel painting of Saints Jerome and Garin, created in 1712 in a workshop in neighbouring Bulle. Two periods are therefore represented side by side: the date of the chapel and the creation of the painting.

The Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Echarlens has its own history. Its foundation stone was laid on 21 April 1924. The church replaced a 17th-century sanctuary that still stands nearby; this sanctuary is also dedicated to the Virgin Mary of the Assumption. The church houses a large embroidered altarpiece by Marguerite Naville depicting the Assumption.

Sacred art also invites comparison: a panel painting in Saint-Garin depicts Jerome and Garin, while Notre-Dame houses a large embroidered altarpiece depicting the Assumption. Two different forms and subjects are thus presented side by side.

Everdes Castle stood on a ridge. Historically, it guarded the western bank and an important crossing over the Saane. The walking trail and the sacred sites therefore offer different points of focus: movement and stories on the one hand, architectural history, dedications and works of art on the other.

Music in the Village

The activities of the Les Armaillis d’Echarlens music society include several concerts each year. If you would like to include a concert in your trip, check the dates of the individual events before making plans.

Discover more destinations: Gruyères Fr, Vuadens, Pont-La-Ville Fr, Crésuz, Pringy, Châtel-Sur-Montsalvens, Jaun, Morlon

For the wider travel overview: Gruyère.