Träbjörnen - Sveg, Jäntlands Län, Sweden - Bear Statues on Waymarking.com

In the years 2003 to 2005, the working group "Sveg Cooperation" erected the statue of an approximately 13m high bear with wood. The consortium was supported by the city, which made the site available. As a symbol of the Härjedalen landscape, the bear welcomes visitors to the region at the intersection of the Ljusnegatan and Vallarvägen streets, which are part of the European route E45.

The statue was built on site with a self-supporting construction made of 60cm long planks to a height of 9m. The parts for the last 4m were prefabricated and assembled with a crane. The self-supporting construction made it possible to provide the bear with inspection rooms, which result in an area of around 70 square meters on three floors.

About 210 cubic meters of wood and over 570,000 nails were used for the construction, which weigh a total of 4 tons. The total weight of the bear is about 80 tons, the cost was 2.2 million SEK, which was mainly raised from private donations and contributions from local companies.

However, the extreme weather during winter in Sveg was not good for the statue: in September 2015, an investigation found that the bear's head was in danger of falling off due to weathering and aging of the wood. A headrest, which is supposed to prevent this, helped here. Nevertheless, in November 2020, after another investigation, it was discussed whether the bear should be dismantled due to the existing damage. However, the decision was made in favor of the statue after the working group in Sveg agreed to support it. In October 2021 the working group bought the area around the statue and started an immediate rescue plan, Härjedalens Kommune announced to support the restauration with an extra amount of 550,000 Swedish Crowns.

References:

• sign at the bear statue
• Träbjörnen har nickat till, article on the first found damage of the bear in 2015, Tidninge Härjedalen, swedish language
• Träbjörnen i Sveg hotas av rivning, article on further damages found in 2020, SVT Nyheter, swedish language
• Träbjörnen i Sveg är nu ett steg närmare fortsatt liv, article on the selling of the area to the working group in 2021, SVT Nyheter, swedish language

Name of statue: Träbjörn Name of creator: Sveg Cooperation Material: Wood Date created: 2003 - 2005 Additional Coordinates: Not Listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/03/2023 davidb11 visited it