Visitors view one of the bears near the pool © Keystone

Park renews Bern's historic bond with bears

by Malcolm Curtis

October 26, 2009 | 11:15

More than 40,000 people flock to Bern's bear park as it officially opens on Sunday, replacing cramped pits that became an embarrassment after showcasing the city's emblematic animal for more than 150 years. Although the facility near the Old Town and the Aare River is almost 10 million francs over budget, the tourist office expects the investment will pay off by renewing the Swiss capital's attachment to its historic symbol.

Thousands of people crowded into Bern’s newest tourist attraction on Sunday. The 24-million-franc BärenPark (Bear Park) officially opened at a site near the Nydeggbrücke Bridge across the Aare River in a festival atmosphere.

“There were a lot of people,” Marcel Graf, from the Bern tourist office told Swisster. “We had more than 40,000 visitors. With the sunshine it was a really great day.”

The 6,000-square-metre facility replaces the old bear pits, a long-time staple attraction for visitors to the Swiss capital.

The new park features just two European brown bears, three-year-old Finn, a male, and six-year-old Bjork, a female. They roam in a more spacious area than the pits, a 150-metre compound that drew strong criticism from animal rights activists.

Admission to the new park is free and visitors can watch the bears wander around an enclosure that includes forest areas, sloped hills, grassland and a pool fed by water from the Aaare River, as well as caves.

People in the park can watch the bears at all times thanks to infrared cameras installed in the caves and other nooks and crannies.

The opening of the new facility marks the latest evolution in a series of venues displaying bears in Bern, which have long been a symbol for the city, with one shown on its official flag. The animals, once plentiful in Switzerland, were hunted to extinction a century ago.

The exhibition of bears in Bern dates back to the 15th century. According to legend, city authorities first opened a pit to display a bruin caught by the Bernese army in 1533 after one of its military forays.

Over the years, several pits were built in different locations until the latest ones was created in 1857 to house 12 animals that tourists could be stare down at over a 3.5-metre-high wall. The pits were popular with visitors, who were allowed to toss scraps of food to the bears.

But they became a liability, tarnishing the image of the city, as critics decried the cramped conditions. “It wasn’t a very comfortable situation, either for the bears or for us at the tourist office,” Graf said.

The bear pits attracted a million tourists annually, but many of them did not linger for long, he said. Now, the city hopes to draw more visitors for longer stays by offering a more comprehensive experience centred on the theme of the bear and its importance to Bern historically.

The former pits have been turned into a museum and souvenir shop and incorporated into the park, a 15-minute walk from the train station via the Old Town, a Unesco-designated heritage site.

Graf said guided tours are being offered daily from the train station at 1 pm, given by local experts who will point out areas of interest in the city centre with a connection to the bear. The tours are offered in English and several other languages for groups of 20 people at a cost of 10 francs per person.

The park is designed to accommodate up to eight bears but for the moment Finn and Bjork are the only attractions. The park’s management are counting on the couple to mate and have children next year, Graf said.

Guided tours are offered in the BärenPark from 8.30 to 5 pm. While the opening day suggested that Bern citizens have warmly welcomed the new facility, a controversy lingers over the costs, which went almost 10 million francs over budget.

Graf said much of the extra expense was related to stabilizing the slopes with metal reinforcements, a requirement not originally foreseen. The project was initially supposed to be paid by corporate sponsors and individuals, who have paid to have their names inscribed on stones used for walls in the park.

While private sources have raised 15 million francs, it appears that the city of Bern will have to find the remaining nine million francs.

Graf said the cost overruns weren’t much of a topic among visitors on Sunday and the investment is expected to yield beneficial returns. “From a touristic point of view we think this is really important,” he said.

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