LA OSA Y EL MADROÑO

Description

Essentials about La Osa y el Madroño in brief

In the middle of the central Puerta del Sol square stands the extraordinary landmark of the Spanish capital: La Osa y el Madroño (The Bear and the Strawberry Tree). The statue is not only a popular meeting place for locals and tourists alike, it is also probably the most photographed subject in all of Madrid. As the city’s emblem, the bear and the strawberry tree not only adorn many official institutions, but can also be found on countless tourist souvenirs.

The sculpture of La Osa y el Madroño

The famous sculpture was created by the sculptor sculptor Antonio Navarro Santafé. The bronze statue, which is about four meters tall and weighs more than twenty tons, shows a bear (more correctly a she-bear) leaning against a Madroño tree (meaning “strawberry tree”) to nibble on its fruit. By the way, the fruits of the Madroño are not strawberries at all. The small, red berries of the tree have only a certain resemblance to strawberries.

The Madrid coat of arms

Many legends and theories surround the question of why a bear nibbling on a tree is Madrid’s emblem. One of the explanations is that Madrid was once called “Ursa”, which means “bear” in Latin. The background of this Latin naming could have been a collection of bears in a forest area near Madrid, where there were also some Madroños.

However, the more probable theory is the following: The bear as a coat of arms of Madrid has been handed down as early as the beginning of the 13th century, when the city sent troops to support King Alfonso VIII in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. A few years later, a dispute arose between the nobility and the clergy over the division of land in and around Madrid. King Alfonso VIII awarded the clergy the fields and pastures, whereas the nobility was to receive the forest. Apparently, the nobility was so pleased with the decision that a tree was added to Madrid’s coat of arms as a sign of the new possessions. The original walking bear was depicted in the new coat of arms on its/her hind legs erected on the tree and nibbling on its fruits.