Bear Mascots of Bern Switzerland Just turning Half a Millenium
Brown Bear at Bern Bearpark
The bears of Bern, the Swiss capital, celebrate 500 years in 2013. Okay, not the bears themselves, but the idea of having a living bear mascot in the city. It was in 1513 when the citizens of Bern returned from the Battle of Novara in northern Italy, where the Swiss aiding the Milanese stopped the advance of the troops of France’s King Louis XII, bringing home with them a live bear as a victory trophy. The city got its name from an earlier legend of Duke Berchtold who had inherited the land. The duke liked to hunt and said he would name a city for the first animal he bagged. It was a bear. All around the city you can see the images of bears cavorting, in fountains, as figures on
Bern’s iconic Glockenspiel clock, in bears made of chocolate and gingerbread. The first bear mascot of Bern which the Bernese affectionately call their “Mutz”, was kept in the moat of the city’s medieval walls, which later turned into a pit. Now, it’s a modern
bear park with a swimming pool and green grass along the river bank with a
Bern tourist center. The tradition still lives on and its 500-year anniversary will be celebrated in 2013. Entrance to the bear park is free, but a group tour is offered for CHF 230.
Bern Tourism
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