The Bear Monument () is a monument to bears in the
Harz mountains
The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...
of
central Germany. It stands by a
forest track
left, alt=Pathway through forest., Concrete pathway through deep forest in India.
Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, ...
and walking trail in woods not far from the
Bremer Teich
The Bremer Teich ("Bremer Pond") is an historic reservoir that lies south of the two villages of Bad Suderode and Gernrode in the Harz Mountains of Germany, and is used as a recreation area (natural swimming pool and camp site). It impounds the ' ...
and the
Viktorshöhe
The Viktorshöhe is a hill, 581.5 metres high, in the Harz mountains of central Germany. It lies on the Ramberg massif within the boundaries of Gernrode, a part of Quedlinburg, and about 3 kilometres northeast of Friedrichsbrunn.
History
The ...
hill and marks the spot where the last
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...
was killed in 1696 in the Anhalt Forest. The monument was erected around 1900. It is a
glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...
boulder on which a cast-iron memorial plate with an inscription has been affixed. Next to the bear monument is a checkpoint (no. 184) which is part of the
Harzer Wandernadel
The Harzer Wandernadel is a system of hiking awards in the Harz mountains in central Germany. Hikers (or mountain bikers) can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping their ...
network of
hiking trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Howe ...
.
The last bear in the Upper Harz was killed about 90 years later near
Wernigerode
Wernigerode () is a town in the Harz (district), district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Wernigerode (district), district of Wernigerode. Its population was 32,181 in 2020.
Wernigerode is located southwes ...
. A coachman or carter named Buchtekirch shot it between 1786 and 1788 and received a reward form of two
Reichstaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...
from the
Count of Stolberg.
A similar monument is the
Luchsstein ("Lynx Stone") near
Lautenthal
The formerly free mining town ('' Bergstadt'') of Lautenthal in Germany is a state-recognised, climatic spa with around 1,570 inhabitants and has been part of the borough of Langelsheim since 1972.
Geography
Lautenthal lies in the Innerste ...
, which commemorates the killing of the last wild
lynx
A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
in the Harz in 1818.
History of Anhalt
Buildings and structures in the Harz
Gernrode
{{SaxonyAnhalt-struct-stub