The Zähringerbrunnen ( Zähringen Fountain) is a fountain on

Kramgasse The Kramgasse ("Grocers Alley") is one of the principal streets in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city centre of Bern, Switzerland. It was the center of urban life in Bern until the 19th century.de Capitani, 8. Today, it is a popular sho ...

in the Old City of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance and is part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

of the

Old City of Bern The Old City () is the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. Built on a narrow hill bordered on three sides by the river Aare, its compact layout has remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the twelfth to the fifteenth ...

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 The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

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 Buildings and structures completed in 1535 Fountains in Bern Tourist attractions in Bern Buildings and structures in Bern Sculptures in Switzerland Monuments and memorials in Switzerland Zoomorphic fountains