Burla was first mentioned in a document in 1143. The church in Burla owes its origins - like most churches in Thuringia - to the Christianization by Irish monks in the period from 700 to 1000. The first settlements were established in "Alter Burl" - as a section of land 800 metres southwest of today's Burla is called - in the period before 400 AD. 1938 was a special year in Burla's history, when the "Thüringer Elektrizitätsgesellschaft" (Thuringian Electricity Company) loaned a wide range of electrical appliances to all households for a year. Burla was listed as a "model electrical village". The people of Burla quickly learned to appreciate the benefits of electrification and were far ahead of other villages. Today, Burla is one of 17 villages in the municipality of Hörselberg-Hainich.