The latter. The Berne Bear Pits were famous the world over as concrete pits in the middle of town with several brown bears. I can't remember how old they were, but they were fairly old, I believe. However, by todays standards, they suck, which is why I imagine they constructed some new facilities.
Berne has a zoo - Dahlholzli - but I don't think it is connected to the Pits in any way.
This is really interesting to me. Did other European cities used to do this, or was it just Bern? And if it is not connected to the zoo, then is someone from the city government just assigned to care for the bears?
The Berne Bear Pits were famous the world over as concrete pits in the middle of town with several brown bears. I can't remember how old they were, but they were fairly old, I believe.
it was not uncommon through the centuries for bear pits to be a source of amusement in European cities (eg Berlin is another famous one). In the case of Berne I believe the city's emblem is a bear.
The city emblem of Bern is indeed a bear and the city itself is named so because legend has it that the founding nobleman caught a bear on the site of the city ("Bern" is also very close to the German word for bear).
See the buliding on the upper right side of the picture? That one mostly hidden by trees with the red roof? That is the bear-house. If there were a flood, the bears would not leave the house. And to flood up there it would be a "the day after tomorrow" scenario needed.
