I think the deal with the bears is that they are a Berlin "mascot", and when you see one, you think about how nice and friendly Berlin people are. Most of them are sponsored (I guess) by companies which paint them and stick them up around town.

The ones on this page are mostly from a selection of 150 odd country bears which were sent to foreign countries to be decorated by local artists before being returned to Berlin and being auctioned off for some worthy cause. There was also some international cooperation etc. angle. They were arranged in a big circle, and some countries were more easy to recognise than others.

"normal" bears

These pictures free for non commercial private perusal. ©cip, 2002, 2003

Email me at:cip1000@sobi.org