A popular etymological theory is that Bern got its name from the bear (Bär in German), when the city’s founder, Berthold V, duke of Zähringen, snagged one here on a hunting spree. To the dismay of some, there was still a 3.5m-deep cramped bear pit in the city until 2009, when it was replaced by today’s spacious 6000-sq-metre open-air riverside park dotted with trees and terraces, in which a number of bears now roam freely.
