The brown bears in the Bärenpark (Bear Park), which replaced the old Bärengraben (pits), are a top sight to see when visiting the historic town of Bern, Switzerland.
The Bärengraben (Bear Pit) has long been a top sight in the Swiss capital Bern. However, from October 2009, a new Bärenpark (Bear Park) replaced the old-fashioned pit. Bears, the symbol and name-giver of Bern, are able to roam freer in the new park and in keeping with more modern notions of humane animal care. The new Bern Bärenpark is located adjacent to the bear pits at the Nydeggbrücke Bridge across the Aare River. Visiting the bears has long been very popular, especially with children, when traveling to Bern and the new bear park reflects Bern’s love of the bear better than the old pits. Admission remains free.
In the Bärenpark in Bern bears have a much more interesting home than in the previous zoo-like pits. The landscape of the new park ranges from forest areas, hill slopes, grasslands, and even access to the Aare River.
In contrast to the old pits, the bears now stay outside all year as well as over night. Infrared cameras in the caves and other hiding places allow visitors to observe at all times what the bears are up to. Webcams give the bears of Bern a worldwide reach via the Internet.
The park caters for a brown bear couple, where cubs will stay with the family until a suitable removing time between the ages of one and five years. The first bears staying in the Bärenpark were Björk (f) and Finn, (m) joined by their cubs Ursina (originally Urs until it became clear he was female) and Berna.
Bern’s love of bears is no coincidence. According to tradition, at the end of the twelfth century, Duke Berchtold V von Zähringen killed a bear on the peninsula jetting into the curve of the Aare River. He promptly called his new town located here Bern, after the German word for bear. (The modern, High German for bear is Bär, while the plural, Bären is pronounced very similar to Bern.)
Bears not only give Bern its name, but a bear also feature on the town emblem and flag. In Bern, visitors will no doubt spot many bears when walking in the old town. Bears adorn everything from the town hall to cakes and tourist souvenirs.
As with the Bärengräben, the Bärenpark is open year round and admission is free. Visitors can see the bears from paths and bridges, with some of the best views of the park from the Nydeggbrücke spanning the Aare River. The bear park is both child and wheel chair friendly.
The Bärenpark (Bear Park) is at the Nydeggbrücke Bridge on the opposite bank of the Aare River from Bern’s old town. It is a very pleasant walk from the old town to the bears – simply follow Krammgasse down to the river.
As the Bärenpark incorporated the old Bärengraben, older maps and guidebooks are still useful to guide visitors to the Bern bears. Similarly, the bus stop remains Bärengraben.
The restaurant in the Tram Depot above the Bärengraben serves hearty local cuisine and fine beers at fair prices.
Further top sights worth seeing in Bern include the beautiful historical old town that was inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list, endless historic fountains, covered arcades, the Einstein Museum, and the magnificent Zentrum Paul Klee Museum, which is the final stop for bus 12 en route from the old town past the bears.