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Learn about the Saint Bernard

The mountain's most famous rescuer

The Saint Bernard comes from the mountain farm dogs kept by the monks at the Great St Bernard Hospice in the Alps. They were bred to be big and weatherproof, with famous noses for finding lost travellers. In our family tree, its ancestors include Alpine mastiffs and the Ancient Molossers. It is a gentle giant pet today. Tap a circle inside to keep digging.

Famous Chums

RealBarryHistoric Alpine rescue dog Live-action filmBeethovenBeethoven franchise Literature / animationNanaPeter Pan adaptations

Saint Bernard

Saint Bernard

The Saint Bernard comes from the mountain farm dogs kept by the monks at the Great St Bernard Hospice in the Alps. They were bred to be big and weatherproof, with famous noses for finding lost travellers. In our family tree, its ancestors include Alpine mastiffs and the Ancient Molossers. It is a gentle giant pet today.

Likely life span

Learn more about the dogs that went into making the Saint Bernard

c. 600 BCOld Mastiffs of the East

Roman Molossers

c. 1700Newfoundland landrace dogs

c. 1700Saint Bernard