If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 368

The Bear and the Strawberry Tree, Madrid, Spain

The statue shown on this postcard is of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree and represents the coat of arms of Madrid, Spain.  The card printed in Spain is unused with a photograph by Jorge Heras.  It was one of several sent postcards in a larger envelope by my son and his wife from their trip to Portugal and Spain earlier this summer.

We do have strawberry trees here in the Pacific Northwest.  The fruit is red like a strawberry but is more uniformly round in shape and although I have not tasted one it is supposed to taste more like a fig than a traditional strawberry.  The Spanish name is Madroño.

It was interesting to find out about the legend surrounding the subject of the sculpture.  The theme of a wild bear first appeared on the coat of arms in 1212 when troops from Madrid carried flags with a bear and the seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major.  The strawberry tree was added in 1222 as a result of a dispute with the church Chapter of Priests and Beneficiaries and the city council that was settled by King Alfonso VIII.  Both the church and the city had claimed ownership of the forests and fields and all the resources therein.  The king made a Solomon type decision and awarded the trees and land to the city and the animals to the church.  This was acceptable to both city and church and the crest was altered to include the bear and tree to reflect the agreement.  Both church and city are responsible for maintaining the area. 

Prior to the addition of the tree the bear had been depicted in a passant or walking position and was changed afterward to the standing position shown on the card with his feet on the trunk of the tree and in the attitude of eating the berries off the tree. 

Neither bears, that were found in the surrounding woods but have since been driven out of the area, nor strawberry trees are commonplace in Madrid today.  This statue is located in the Puerta del Sol the historical center and one of the busiest places in the heart of the city of Madrid.  

For additional information, see:

https://thetreeographer.com/2017/01/the-bear-and-the-strawberry-tree
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_the_Bear_and_the_Strawberry_Tree