Karhupuisto Bear - Helsinki, Finland - Bear Statues on Waymarking.com

"The name of the park (Bear Park) comes from its sculpture. Early in the 20th century, the sculpturist Jussi Mantynen got the idea of the totem animal of Finland, the bear. Standing on the anthill. The red granite sculpture was unveiled in 1931." (visit link)

"In Finland a bear is thought to be an intelligent and soulful creature. It is no ordinary animal but some sort of human being living in a forest. It can count at least to nine and it can understand the language of man. Even though a bear has the strength of nine men it will not attack a human being without a good reason.

In Finnish tradition women had a special relationship with bears. It was imagined that bears were looking for a chance to reincarnate through women. Because of this belief women were supposed to stay far away from a dead bear during a bear's funeral feast. It was commonly believed that bears would not attack a person they recognised as a female." (visit link)

About the Artist:

"Jussi Mantynen was born in Helsinki, Finland on May 6, 1886. Growing up, he loved to hunt and spend time outdoors although as an adult he was firmly against hunting. Mantynen spent a brief period of his youth as a sailor and used the money he earned to pay for school. He studied at Ateneum art school and learned sculpture from Alpo Sailo and painting from Akseli Gallen-Kallela. He later enrolled at the academy of art in Florence. Mantynen studied animals as both an artist and scientist. He worked as a taxidermist's assistant and as a taxidermist at Helsinki University Zoological Museum. In addition to his own work as a taxidermist, Mantynen studied animals by observing them in menageries, zoological collections and art museums. It was in art museums that Mantynen became particularly entranced with Assyrian and Egyptian representations of animals. Although he was well known in the science community due to his work, he also had success as an artist. The National Museum in Stockholm purchased a group of his granite bears, the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan obtained two monumental lynx sculptures made from diorite, Brussels and Paris awarded him the Grand Prix, and his first one man show was held in Stockholm in 1934 with another one man show in London in 1939. Mantynen decided to devote his full time to sculpture following the success of his London exhibit. Mantynen was an artist who went from a natural to a more abstract representation of animals. His favorite subject matters were the elk, bear, lynx, fox, swan and crane in all their moods and physical expressions." (visit link)

Name of statue: Unknown Name of creator: Jussi Mantynen Material: Red Granite Date created: 1931 Additional Coordinates: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
A picture of the statue needs to be included, usually with a different view or views, but you do not have to be in the picture and you do not have to include your GPS device in the photo. Any additional information about the statue is welcome.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/25/2025 Mätkö Kake visited it 01/25/2025 t0mbl visited it 05/17/2023 Paulaho visited it 02/22/2021 TaTuMa visited it 03/12/2020 BomBomBom visited it 06/04/2019 ilkkarjs visited it 02/24/2018 vikiki1 visited it 01/05/2017 zaxa visited it 12/19/2015 Unara visited it 12/19/2015 perttiv visited it 11/20/2015 makans visited it 10/13/2014 Maine67 visited it 03/08/2014 Geopellet visited it 06/23/2013 Virene visited it 06/23/2013 JeyJey8791 visited it 05/24/2013 Tebari visited it 04/13/2013 rtl visited it 04/11/2013 Lothark visited it 03/26/2013 juhnu visited it 03/26/2013 marko77 visited it 03/23/2013 petu78 visited it 02/23/2013 Maarit & Risto visited it 02/01/2013 Jouni Jurmu visited it 08/17/2012 Chasing Blue Sky visited it

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