Pori’s city hall bear head damaged during cleaning, prompting restoration discussions

Residents of Pori quickly noticed something unusual about the city hall’s façade. Over the weekend, the city’s building manager, Jouni Salonen, received numerous inquiries from locals puzzled by a conspicuous black void at the center of the city’s coat of arms. This occurred during routine cleaning of the gutters, which revealed that the bear’s head had been damaged. There was concern that pieces could fall onto the sidewalk, prompting the decision to remove the head more than a week ago.

The aim was to restore and reattach the head, but it disintegrated during handling. Currently, the city is in discussions with the museum regarding next steps. Salonen acknowledged that repairing the original head is not feasible, and creating a new one will take considerable time. He noted that, despite efforts to reference photographs for accuracy, replicating an identical bear might be unrealistic.

The bear, a symbol of Pori, was depicted with a red knight’s crown and a protruding red tongue, as described in heraldic guidelines established in 1931. In the coming days, further details will emerge about the materials used for the city hall’s bear. Early indications suggest that it was constructed from concrete, possibly with gypsum.

There are concerns that gypsum may have been used in the façade repairs over the years, leading to the current state of deterioration. However, Salonen emphasized that investigations are still ongoing.