Jo the Bear, Maastricht, Netherlands - Sit-by-me Statues on Waymarking.com

The Berekoil, many a Maastricht citizen grew up with it, often on Sunday we went with mother to the park and ended with a visit to the 'berekoil', now that of course no longer but then, we knew a lot. Of course it is good that this period is over, but occasionally I think back to that time with melancholy.

In 1920 the first act of the drama De Berenkuil started. Some notables donate two bears to the city of Maastricht in order to beautify the city park and entertain the people of Maastricht. The two bears were purchased at Hamburg's Circus Hagenbeck in 1919 in Maastricht and where the first contacts were made. In 1920 the bears were bought in in September 1920, the bears Max and Polla arrived in their enclosure. The enclosure consisted of a zoo cage, forged by students from the craft school. The animals were mainly fed with unsold breads.

Both animals died in captivity, due to a disease at the abdomen Polla was killed on March 24, 1944, two years later Max who suffers from paralysis in the abdomen, also finished. In 1950 two new bears were bought, these bears were given the same names and arrived in October 1950. On January 4, 1968, these Max and Polla were given three small bears, Jo, Sjakkie and Cor. These three males remain alive however due to the overpopulation, the mutual understanding and the aggressive attitude of father Max it is necessary to enlarge or expand the bear pit. In 1969 the construction of the new residence is started and in 1970 the five bears can move in. It soon turns out that the stay is too small for five bears, nevertheless it takes 12 years before Max and Polla move to Zoo Zwartberg in 1982 (disbanded in 1999) in Genk, Belgium. Those triplets were left behind in the bare concrete housing, in the eighties the 'home' of Sjakkie, Cor and Jo was cleaned up with a water bowl, a sandbox, a tree trunk and some old car tires. In August 1991 Cor dies and more than half a year later on 23 March 1992 Sjakkie follows. As far as the last of the three of our Jo is concerned, we are eagerly looking for a solution.

In August 1993, after mediation of the National Inspection of Animal Protection, Jo was transferred to the bear forest of Ouwenhands Dierenpark in Rhenen. He must have had a few good years here. In the early morning of February 11, 1997 the caretakers of the park found lifeless.

The Bear Pit was empty from 1993 to 2001

What to do with an empty bear pit? Dismantling the stumbling block would be said in this way. If not the people and the authorities of Maastricht. A monument has to be made of the bear pit in honor of the bears. In October 2001, after a tumultuous decision-making in the years before, Michel Huisman's semi-automatic comfort machine was festively presented to the public: a giraffe, stroked by a girl, is on the stage of the bear pit. There are specimens of extinct animal species in the canal. At fifty meters away, bear Jo is sitting on a bench from outside to see the store. A vulnerable, somewhat awkward elderly gentleman. To date, the noise has not been suppressed. Dagblad De Limburger likes to fill his columns with it. The bear pit remains an open nerve.

The municipality of Maastricht has taken the initiative to produce a book in which the third act of the drama, from bear to giraffe, is central. It has thus become a tribute to Michel Huisman and his work. The municipality also honors itself because it has courageously not surrendered the artistry to the will of the people. It is a fancy book with good reporting, lots of black-and-white photos, richly provided with newspaper clippings. This makes it a coffee table book about art. Not meant for the child, the woman or the man who ever gambled at Jo, full of awe and utterly endeared.


In a dream Jo appeared to the man who would remember him with this monument (Michel Huisman). The bear suggested that he should also remember the other and put his friend giraffe in his place, who, in his opinion, could have had a better death. Jo asked emphatically not to have to lie down for personal reasons. (text taken directly from the signs placed on the artwork).

Michel Huisman himself says about the work of art: "The theme I have chosen is ancient, love and death.If love was not so beautiful, death would not be that heavy." My work of art is about the realization that it is once for us. it all ends, which is why we live as intensely as possible. "

Yet it is difficult to see the work of art as an indictment against humanity. A tribute to the bears who had to live in a concrete pit for decades (not for nothing did Beer no longer want to go back to the pit). The other twelve extinct people also look so sad that you can not look at them without guilt. And these are only 12 of the long list of animals that have died due to human intervention. Unfortunately, this list is still getting longer every year.


At about 50 meters away is a lonely bronze bear, with human hands, on a bench, with the back to the whole. The 'bear hands' are a cast of the hands of Huisman. The statue can be seen as an ode to the brown bears that lived in the pit and an elegy for extinct animals.

Location description: Stadspark, Maastricht Statue's Subject: Mankind Artist: Michel Muisman

Visit Instructions:
Photo of the statue with person sitting on bench next to the statue, standing next to the statue or other-wise interacting appropriately with the statue(face of person does not need to show, gps does not need to be in photo).
Extra credit for having fun!!!

---

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.