Bärengraben
Encyclopedia
The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a well-known tourist attraction, an enclosure housing bears at the eastern edge of the Old City of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke
and the Aare River. The bear is a symbol of Bern, both the city and canton, and is featured in Bern's coat of arms.
The first records of the bears existing in the city come from 1441. This particular site is the fourth such enclosure and was first opened in 1857. In 1925, a smaller pit was added to raise the young bear cubs. Today, the Bärengraben is part of the city zoo (Dählhölzli) and a heritage site of national significance
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Currently, the historical Bärengraben is empty. Its last two bears were put down in 2008 and 2009 due to old age and ill health. As a replacement, the nearby BärenPark (bear park), an open-air park next to the Aare river have been opened in October 2009.
series of fourteen children's books are partly set in the Bear Pits At Bern, with the story's main character, Mary Plain and her family living in the pits.
Nydeggbrücke
The Nydeggbrücke is a bridge in Bern, Switzerland which connects the eastern part of the old city to the new part. It crosses over the Aare River and is located very close to the Bärengraben. It was built in parallel to the Untertorbrücke in 1840, which until then had been the only bridge crossing...
and the Aare River. The bear is a symbol of Bern, both the city and canton, and is featured in Bern's coat of arms.
The first records of the bears existing in the city come from 1441. This particular site is the fourth such enclosure and was first opened in 1857. In 1925, a smaller pit was added to raise the young bear cubs. Today, the Bärengraben is part of the city zoo (Dählhölzli) and a heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
.
Currently, the historical Bärengraben is empty. Its last two bears were put down in 2008 and 2009 due to old age and ill health. As a replacement, the nearby BärenPark (bear park), an open-air park next to the Aare river have been opened in October 2009.
In culture
The Mary PlainMary Plain
Mary Plain is a bear character in British children's literature who features in a series of novels based around her adventures. The character was created by the Welsh authoress Gwynedd Rae and first appeared in the book Mostly Mary in 1930. The last original book, Mary Plain's Whodunnit, was...
series of fourteen children's books are partly set in the Bear Pits At Bern, with the story's main character, Mary Plain and her family living in the pits.