A berenkuil is a type of traffic circle

Traffic circle

A traffic circle or rotary is a type of circular intersection in which traffic must travel in one direction around a central island. In some countries, traffic entering the circle has the right-of-way and drivers in the circle must yield. In many other countries, traffic entering the circle must...

 found in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. In this construction, automotive traffic is directed around a raised outer circle. This leaves a sunken open space in the center of the circle which is used for bicycle paths.

Perhaps the first berenkuil, and the one that gives its name to this type of circle, is the one in Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

, built in 1944. There are several theories for the origin of its name, including the possibility that an actual bear pit was located there, or that it was named in honor of the British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, nicknamed the polar bears, who liberated Utrecht from the Nazis.

In Eindhoven, the Berenkuil (a traffic circle of the same type on the city's ring road

Ring road

A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...

, officially known as Insulindeplein) has become an official free zone for graffiti

Graffiti

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....

 and has been the site of graffiti festivals.

Other well-known berenkuil circles in the Netherlands include the Airborneplein in Arnhem

Arnhem

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...

, a traffic circle in the access road to the Passewaaij neighborhood in Tiel

Tiel

' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....

, a traffic circle in the center of Rijssen

Rijssen

Rijssen is a town in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is part of Rijssen-Holten, one of thirteen municipalities in Twente. It has over 28,000 inhabitants...

 on the crossing of the N347 and the N350, and the Lammenschansplein, a traffic circle in Leiden.

A traffic circle of similar design also exists in southern Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, at the intersection of Tehnika and Veerenni.