The Bear Pit

Berne is a city of bears. This iconic animal is deeply tied to the city’s origins. According to legend, in 1191, Duke Berthold V of Zähringen decided to found a city to provide a home for nearby farmers. He chose this particular spot, nestled in a loop of the Aare River, where there was plenty of game. He organised a hunt, declaring that the first animal they killed would give the new city its name. That animal turned out to be a bear, “ein Bär” in German. The city was named Bärn, which later became Berne. The bear became its official emblem in 1224, appearing on the city’s coat of arms. Berne has been home to real bears since 1513. Until 1857, they were kept in the center of town, before being moved to the city’s historic bear pit. In 1996, after pressure from environmental groups, the pit was renovated with caves and areas for climbing and swimming. Then in 2009, the city created a new 6,000 square meter park where the bears can roam freely. The park is open 24 hours a day and completely free to visit, but please don’t feed the bears. Their food is hidden throughout the enclosure to encourage natural foraging. The bear family currently living there includes the mother, Björk, the father, Finn, and their daughter Ursina, born in 2009. Her sister Berna was relocated to Dobrich Zoo in Bulgaria in 2013. If you have questions during your visit, feel free to speak with the forest rangers, and if you're interested in learning more, you can also join a paid guided tour. The bears hibernate from November to March, so you won’t see them in the middle of winter. You also may have noticed names engraved into the cobblestones beneath your feet. To help fund the new bear park, the city offered 11,600 stones for public sponsorship. In return, donors got to have their names etched along the eastern path. The initiative was a huge success and raised over 1.2 million Swiss francs.