"Bern - The City with the Bears" a Bern Travel Page by littlesam1

Bern is without question the city of bears. The bear is the symbol of city as well as the canton. You will find bears on the buildings. You will find bears in souvineers shops. You will find bears on or around most of the fountains. And you will find bears literally in a pit in the middle of the city. The bear emblem is from the founding of Bern by Duke Berchtold in 1191. Legend has it that the Duke named the city after the first animal he met and killed here.

This picture was taken from a trail that goes above the bear pits and above the Aare River. I thought the view was beautiful and the picture made a lasting impression of one of my first views of Bern.

Bern is the political capitol of Switzerland although it is not the country's largerst city. It is a beautiful city full of charm and history. And like several other places I visited in Switzerland it has a connection for the James Bond fan.

Like many of the places I visited while in Switzerland, Bern has a connection to the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Scenes were filmed at the bear pit and also in the city of Bern. I will be talking about these sites as you travel with me thought the city of Bern.

Bern is full of fountains. Most of them are located down the middle of Kramgasse, the main street in the city. I was impressed with the ornate and intricate art work on the fountains. So why did I choose this fountain to put on my first Bern page? This is the Samson fountain. It has Samson struggling with a lion. My last name is Sampson so I claimed this fountain as mine. I had read about the fountains before I went to Bern and was determined to have my picture taken here in front of MY fountain.

I really was surprised when I learned that there was an actual bear pit still in the middle of the city of Bern. I thought this would have been outlawed or just done away with years ago. But the ancient bear pits still remain. They date back to the 16th century. Here I am being attacked by a cardboard display of a bear at the museum and gift shop are of the bear pits. The pits are one of Berns tourist attractions.