The bear has long served as a symbol of Berne, Indiana. The community was named after Bern, Switzerland, the homeland from which the town's settlers had emigrated in 1852, and those settlers would have been familiar with bears displayed on flags, seals, coats of arms, and statues throughout the Canton of Bern. According to local legend, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he encountered on a hunt, which was a bear. The bear has been the heraldic animal of Bern's seal and coat of arms since at least the 1220s, and the Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, in Bern has kept live bears since the 1440s. In Berne, Indiana, the bear was the mascot for Berne High School, appears on the city flag and coat of arms, and continues to serve as a symbol of the community at the Muensterberg Plaza.