El Oso y el Madroño

Located in Puerta del sol.. near Metro station.. U won't miss it. Recommended to go there early in the morning to avoid line.

This bear statue is the symbol of Madrid! Located in the busiest part of the city center, Sol, the bronze bear is posed with a strawberry tree, an image that's on the city's coat of arms. I just read on Atlas Obscura that "The first known use of the bear as a symbol of Madrid occurred in 1212 when knights from the city charged into the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa against the Moors carrying standards emblazoned with a bear." The strawberry tree was once thought of as curing the plague too. The statue isn't very big, but if you're visiting the city, you'll definitely visit the city center and walk by it at one point.

Some things defy explanation and this is one. The bear and the strawberry tree have been the symbol of Madrid since the 13th Century and have appeared on the city's coat of arms for centirues. More recently, this statue in Puerta del Sol was made and put on display.

Wikipedia doesn't explain how the symbol of Madrid came to be this, so I don't have an explanation for you. If you have it, I'm open!

If you're looking for something that says "Madrid" then you've found it. Get your selfie here.

It's just to the left of the Apple Store.

El Oso y el Madroño, what a long name for the statue. I found it quite cute as well, a bear with a tree. This is actually the symbol of the city. It could be find in most of the places in the city. It reminds me the symbol of Berlin, in Berlin we also got a bear as the symbol of the city. And the bear even stand direction. It was quite interesting, I wonder if there was any connection between them.

The statue located close to one of the exit of station Sol, so it's quite easy find. I did walk from Gran Vía to this place, it was quite a nice walk actually and check out the city at the same time. Because of its location. It is almost quite alot people around this area. Whether day or night. And from the evening they got a stand here selling stuff, I don't think that's a official thing. The statue isn't huge, but I like it. Just be extra careful if you are visiting the statue at night, it seems messier at night.

Woot, a bronze statue featuring the symbol of Madrid! (it is found on the cities coat of arms.)OK, maybe the statue it's self isn't that exciting, but I cant think of it without putting myself into Plaza Puerta del Sol. It is located just a short stroll from the place I've stayed the last couple of times I was in Madrid and not much farther from the place I used to stay at.

It's name in English is "Statue of the Bear and Strawberry Tree". It was (according to wiki) placed in 1963 it is by Antonio Navarro Santafé. It was commissioned by the City of Madrid's Culture Department that wanted to make a monument to represent the seal of the city.

Free landmark to see in Barcelona.

What more do you want. :) It's easy to get to, and it's just a small landmark that's out in the open. It's cute. And there's lots of people taking pictures of it.

I wouldn't go out of the way to see it, but lucky for me it was nearby to the hotel we were staying at.

This is the bear and the strawberry tree, you meet people here. 'We'll meet at the bear' you say and everyone knows you mean the bear statue in Sol. There are some fantastic buskers round here, in fact all the buskers in Madrid were great, but a trio really stood out. One plays bass, and the other two harmonise on large ancient zithers struck with what can only be described as padded back scratchers, but their arms move at about a thousand miles an hour in perfect unison, and the music produced sounds like you've been transported into some mad 60s spy movie.
The main shopping streets lead off Sol, and the main prostitution streets, and don't get the two confused. Loads and loads of prostitutes everywhere you go in Madrid, some quite aggressive. But apparently it's much better than it used to be (!) El Corte Ingles, the huge department store, is a good place to shop, but not as cheap as Dia. Don't drink in the bars round Sol either, they're all too touristy and expensive. Do like the Spaniards, buy your booze in a supermercado then mix it in your hotel room. Drinking outside was ercently banned but you wouldn't know it walking round Plaza Santa Anna after midnight.

It's a bear and a tree. I read somewhere it weighs about 20 tons. The motifs are on the escudo or coat of arms of Madrid, which was more recently established in 1967, although a blue and white design was approved in 2004. The tree might not be a madroño, but there seem to have been bears in the area centuries ago - as one might expect. Alfonso XI wrote: "Madrid, un buen lugar de puerco y oso".


http://albertolevin.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/historia-del-escudo-de-madrid/


I like the fact that it has also been decreed that the oso (male bear) is in fact an osa (female bear):


http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/13/madrid/1181748070.html


Not sure where to go with that discussion except that if one goes to Madrid, a visit to the Puerta del Sol or point 0 of the city is pretty much obligatory. Sol has changed over the past 20+ years. Large buildings are getting bright coats of paint, and there are more and more languages being heard that are not just the French, English or German of decades ago.


When looking at this statue, don't forget there's one of Carlos III in the square as well. I personally prefer the oso since nobility on horseback are a dime a dozen in Spain and there are few bears and even fewer madroños (or whatever you suppose the tree to be). An adjective used to describe the center is "bustling". With all due respect, I'd call it crazy and rush across the main streets as quickly as possible to find some respite on a side alley from the noise pollution. It may be my imagination, but Madrid seems busier, a bit more polluted and dangerous than some other major European capitals. This is not meant to offend the gatos (natives of Madrid are called cats, yes) and may be a reflection of the traumatizing experience of being robbed in the Wendy's in Sol years ago. Never got over that, nor did I get over the fact that the police, when hearing about the robbery, said, yes, that's a ring operating here. Under their noses, but...