The Zähringerbrunnen (
Zähringen Fountain) is a fountain on
Kramgasse in the Old City of
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It is a Swiss
Cultural Property of National Significance and is part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site of the
Old City of Bern.
History
The ''Zähringerbrunnen'' was built in 1535
as a memorial to the founder of Bern,
Berchtold von Zähringer. The statue is a bear in full armor, with another bear cub at his feet. The bear represents the bear that, according to legend, Berchtold shot on the
Aare peninsula as he was searching for a site to build a city. The armored bear carries a shield and a banner, both emblazoned with the Zähringen lion.
The basin below the fountain bore the date 1542 until 1889 when the entire basin was replaced. At the same time the column and figure were repainted. The old basin was octagonal. On one face it had the inscription ''Protege Nos Domine'' and on another ''Soli Deo Gloria''. Another face had the date 1542 in
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
and the fourth had an inscription that was unreadable in the 19th century.
The current basin is an exact replica of the
Pfeiferbrunnen's basin.
[Hofer pg. 285]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahringerbrunnen
1530s sculptures
1535 works
Infrastructure completed in 1535
Fountains in Bern
Tourist attractions in Bern
Buildings and structures in Bern
Sculptures in Switzerland
Monuments and memorials in Switzerland