The Bear of Baerenthal

Bears, symbols of Baerenthal, would have been brought by the gypsies and would have spread since then. In the 17th century, a few bears still roamed the area. In 1750, the Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg killed the last bear in the Muhlthal forest and named the village Baerenthal - valley of the bears. A legend says that a bear was tied to a rock in the Altbaerenthal valley and that its howling can still be heard in bad weather.