Bern Bear Park
 Common neighborhood in Bern |
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| Coordinates | 601 545 / 199522 |
| height | 497- 544 m |
| surface | 0.0864 km² |
| Residents | 34 (2019) |
| Population density | 394 inhabitants / km² |
| Proportion of foreigners | 11.8% (2019) |
| Quarter number | 418 |
| Post Code | 3005,3006,3011,3013 |
| Statistical district | Gryphenhübeli |
| district | Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde |
The Bärenpark Bern ( spelling : BärenPark Bern ) is an animal enclosure opened in Bern in 2009 . At the same time it is a common quarter in the statistical district 18 Kirchenfeld of the district IV ( Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde ). The northern border forms the banks of the Aare . It also borders the Gryphenhübeli / Thunplatz , Schosshalde / Obstberg and Altenberg quarters . In 2019, 34 residents were registered in the quarter, 29 of them Swiss and 4 foreigners. The residential development is located north of the Nydeggbrücke on the Felsenburg, which connects the district with the city center.
The bear park replaces the old bear pit for keeping brown bears , in which species-appropriate keeping was no longer possible. The facility is located on the bank of the Aare opposite the old town and is part of the Bern Zoo , the main part of which, the Dählhölzli , is also located about two kilometers southwest on the Aare. The bear park and the old bear pit are one of the most famous sights in Bern. The bear is the heraldic animal of the city and the canton of Bern .
The two old bear pits are used differently today. The big ditch is still part of the bear enclosure. The bears are kept in the ditch for a short time when the large enclosure is cleaned or food is distributed there. The small moat is open to the public.
The Bears
Finn and Björk
After the bear "Pedro" had to be euthanized on April 30, 2009, the ditch remained empty for the time being. The two bears "Finn" and "Björk" have lived in the facility since the beginning of October 2009.
Young bears Berna and Ursina
In December 2009, “Björk” gave birth to two cubs in a cave in the bear enclosure. They were given the names «Berna» and «Urs». According to an agreement with the city of Solothurn , a young animal always bears the name «Urs». This is also one of the two city saints of Solothurn. "Finn" was temporarily relocated to a separate enclosure because of the cubs, as there was a risk that he could eat the cubs.
At the end of February 2010, “Björk” left the cave with her two boys for the first time for a short time. In the months that followed, the little bears were a magnet for visitors (up to 20,000 people per day).
The names were assigned before the gender of the little ones was known. Since the end of October 2010 it has been clear that both bears are female. That is why the name was changed from "Urs" to "Ursina".
“Berna” had to leave the bear park in July 2013 because she repeatedly got into conflict with her mother “Björk”. «Berna» was taken to a bear enclosure in Dobrich , Bulgaria .
history
The first recorded news of a bear pit in Bern near the Käfigturm (on today's Bärenplatz) dates from 1441. Between 1764 and 1825 and 1825 and 1857, the bear pit was in the area of today's bulwark. The current facility is the fourth bear pit. It was opened in 1857 and supplemented in 1925 with a smaller trench for rearing young animals. The stables were renovated in the 1970s.
The bear pit was repeatedly in the focus of animal rights activists , whose criticism related to the unsuitable animal husbandry. Up until the opening of the bear park, the keeping conditions were improved. The number of bears has been reduced, the separation wall in the large bear pit has been removed, climbing opportunities have been created and the concrete floor has been replaced by a natural substrate.
The structures of the bear pit, not the bear park, are a cultural asset of national importance , KGS no. 612.
From the bear pit to the bear park
In 2004, the city council of Bern approved a project loan for the renovation and expansion of the historic bear pit. A bear park was to be created from the bear pit. The animals would have direct access to the Aare and a large outdoor enclosure. Sleeping dens and species-appropriate feeding places should enable animal-friendly keeping. The bear pit underwent fundamental changes by October 2009. The Aare slope next to the Bärengraben was redesigned into a spacious natural area, the bears were released from their walled ditch and can move all year round in an outdoor area of over 6,000 square meters, which is only separated from the banks of the Aare by the visitor path. Contrary to initial plans, the current bear pit, which stood at its current location at the Nydegg Bridge as early as 1856 and is included in the federal inventory of cultural assets of national importance and in the highest cantonal protection category, has been preserved. The large moat is connected to the park by a tunnel. The small ditch is no longer part of the bear enclosure, but is available to the public for events. The new facility was officially inaugurated on October 22, 2009 and has been open to visitors since October 25.
Shortly before the opening, the Bear Park hit the headlines because the actual construction costs of around 24 million Swiss francs exceeded the original budget of 9.7 million and later revised to 14.5 million Swiss francs. In October 2009, the Bern municipal council initiated an administrative investigation to clarify the causes. As early as May 2009, structural problems in connection with the unstable Aare slope indicated additional costs.
Others
In the sixth James Bond movie In Her Majesty's Secret Service , made in 1969 and partly set in Bern, the bear pit is shown briefly to localize the plot. This scene was missing in the early German-language versions.
See also
Web links
- Website of the Bear Park Bern
- Information, pictures, videos and 360 panoramas from BärenPark - Bern Tourism website
- Article on the history of the zoo (with Bear Pit) from the Encyclopedia of the World's zoos (English)
- Grosser Muristalden 6 (Bärengraben) on bauinventar.bern.ch (PDF download)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Interactive city map of the city of Bern (selection under "Topics")
- ↑ Resident population 2019 (PDF, 4.3 MB) City of Bern, March 2020, p. 14 , accessed on March 29, 2020 .
- ↑ The Bears - Pedro. (No longer available online.) In: Baerenpark-Bern.ch. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009 ; Retrieved November 22, 2009 .
- ↑ The Bears - Björk. (No longer available online.) In: Baerenpark-Bern.ch. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009 ; Retrieved November 22, 2009 .
- ↑ Björk only lets young people out for a few seconds. In: bernerzeitung.ch. March 1, 2010, accessed March 8, 2010 .
- ↑ But no Urs: both Bernese cubs are female. In: bernerzeitung.ch. November 2, 2010, accessed November 4, 2010 .
- ↑ Berna has to go to Dobrich. (No longer available online.) July 23, 2013, archived from the original on September 27, 2013 ; Retrieved September 26, 2013 .
- ↑ Article Bear Pit. In: Historisch Topographisches Lexikon der Stadt Bern. Retrieved October 22, 2019 .
- ↑ Bear Park: Local council decides to investigate. In: DerBund.ch. Der Bund, October 15, 2009, accessed on November 22, 2009 .