El Oso y El Madroño
The famous plaza is also home to the most famous symbol of the Spanish capital: a 20 ton statue of a bear feasting of fruits from a tree. It gets its name from the original name of Madrid: ‘Ursaria’, which means ‘land of the bears’ in Latin. According to the legend, there were high numbers of bears in the adjacent forests, which, together with the strawberry tree, have been the symbol of the city from the medieval era.
El Oso y el Madroño, Plaza Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain

The Clock of Puerta del Sol | Cristina Candel / © Culture Trip

The Clock of Puerta del Sol | Cristina Candel / © Culture Trip