{"id":667606,"date":"2022-03-04T18:20:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T15:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/?p=667606"},"modified":"2024-01-30T15:02:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T13:02:03","slug":"berlin-zoo-history-photo-description-ticket-prices-2021-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/berlin-zoo-history-photo-description-ticket-prices-2021-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin Zoo – history, photo, description, ticket prices 2021, map"},"content":{"rendered":"

The main city<\/a> of Germany has dozens of historical, cultural and natural attractions<\/a>. But none of them evokes such sincere and joyful emotions as the Berlin<\/a> Zoo, the oldest zoological garden in the country. Spread in the heart of the western part of the German capital, the 35 hectare green oasis invites you to spend an exciting day in the company of more than 19,500 representatives of the world<\/a> of fauna.<\/p>\n

Story<\/h2>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1841, the famous German geographer, naturalist<\/a> Alexander von Humboldt, African explorer Martin Hinrich Liechtenstein and Prussian garden artist Peter Joseph Lenn\u00e9 petitioned Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm IV to establish the first zoo in the country. Three years later, on the territory that belonged to the imperial pheasant court, a zoological garden was opened under the leadership of Liechtenstein. Its first inhabitants were animals given by the king from the menagerie located<\/a> in the nearby Tiergarten park.<\/p>\n

In 1869, the doctor and biologist Heinrich Bodinus took over as director. Since that moment, the zoo has become a place of reside<\/a>nce for the exotic inhabitants of the plane<\/a>t. Within two years, houses for giraffes and antelopes, enclosures for ostriches and pens for elephants were equipped. In 1913, an aquarium building decorated with reliefs of prehistoric monsters and mosaics appeared – a home for 400 species of inhabitants of the hydrosphere.<\/p>\n

In 1899, a unique Japanese-style arch, the elephantortor, was erected at the main entrance. Two figures of Elbe sandstone elephants hold heavy columns on their backs. They are crowned with a curved red and green pagoda roof decorated with gilded East Asian car<\/a>vings. The work of art was destroyed in the bombings of 1943 and rest<\/a>ored in 1982.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

The Second World War spared neither people, nor animals, nor birds. Of the 3,700 four-legged and winged inhabitants of the zoological garden, only 90 survived. Most of the buildings and sculptures were destroyed. The revival of the zoo dates back to 1956. Thanks to the new director, scientist Katarina Heinroth, and donations from the townspeople, work began on the reconstruction of buildings and the rest<\/a>oration of the number of animals. Today, the Berlin Zoo receives about 3 million visit<\/a>ors annually and, according to Forbes, is one of the ten best zoos in the world.<\/p>\n

Animals<\/h2>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

There are no habitual cramped cages, from the bowels of which drooping animals look at visitors. Equipping this unique<\/a> corner of nature, the employees did a great job of recreating the natural habitats of representatives of the biological kingdom. Herbivores are separated from the well-groomed paths by a small moat, predators live in spacious fenced pens and comfortable pavilions, and birds live in huge enclosures.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

Each visitor receives a detailed map of the territory. To the right of the main entrance is a zone of big cats. In winter, carnivores live in a heated pavilion, and in the warm sea<\/a>son they go out into the open air, where they hide from annoying tour<\/a>ists among the rocks and green thickets. Roe deer, deer, reindeer, bison, anoa, banteng and gaur peacefully graze in the neighborhood with predators in the company of cranes and herons. Nearby, in a small pond, the edges of which you can touch with your hand, funny penguins scurry back and forth.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

Always crowded by an artificial lake surrounded by a rocky shore. Californian sea<\/a> lions – the proud giant Bulle Enzo and his harem – led by their two-legged friends daily delight the audience with an exciting show. They do dizzying somersaults, jump over the ring, catch frisbees, balance with the ball on their noses and give everyone kisses. After the performance, the pinnipeds gather around the train<\/a>ers, gently touching their faces with their mustachioed snouts. “This is Love?” the audience asks. “No, rather, begging for delicious herring,” the mentors laugh.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

Members of a pack of polar wolves patrol their possessions. Two bears – a Himalayan bear and a sloth bear – are waddling along the bank of a small stream. A little in the distance, from the top of a rocky ridge, huge polar bears look at the guests. Nearby is a giant Aviary – home to many noisy winged birds, among which a rare hornbill and Australian kubara occupy a special place.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

The pool for hippos shines with cleanliness. Through the thick glass, an amazing picture opens up before the enthusiastic spectators: a family of hippos plays together and leisurely flies in the water, and curious cubs continually swim up to the transparent fence to look at people. Nearby are a rhinoceros enclosure, a spacious elephant paddock and a house of antelopes and giraffes that looks like an oriental palace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

There is also a petting zoo. Young guests can pet and feed sheep, goa<\/a>ts and funny piglets. For a long time, the kids linger in the monkey zone, where the local guard – 60-year-old gorilla Fatu – professionally poses for photo<\/a>graphers. The queue for the Berlin Zoo newcomers, a pair of young pandas who arrived from China<\/a> in the summer of 2017, is not thinning.<\/p>\n

Animal feeding<\/h2>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

At the Berlin Zoo, it is strictly forbidden to give animals food brought with them. Each local resident has a separate diet developed by veterinarians. The diet can be found in special pavilions. Behind the glass showcases, the daily menu is displayed: products that employees feed their pets with. In good weather<\/a>, those who wish can watch the process of issuing “dinners”.<\/p>\n

Feeding schedule:<\/p>\n

Aquarium<\/h2>\n

In 1869, on the Unter den Linden boulevard, the first aquarium in the capital was opened. After 31 years, the city<\/a> authorities decided to close an unprofitable enterprise in the center<\/a> of Berlin. A new building for the inhabitants of the hydrosphere was erected in 1913 on the territory of the zoo. Today, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects have found their home on three floors of a historic building located to the right of the main entrance. In total, 13,000 animals live here and 250 plants grow.<\/p>\n

On the first floor, guests enter the semi-dark realm of Neptune. Instead of walls, there are tanks filled with water, each of which maintains a certain temperature, salinity and lighting. The owners of the underwater world, not paying attention to the audience, go about their bus<\/a>iness. Blacktip reef sharks patrol the territory, transparent jellyfish hover, clown fish frolic in the corals, and funny seahorses watch them, camouflaging themselves among the algae.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

The reptile hall welcomes visitors with moist air. Turtles move slowly among tropical plants, tuatara scurry about and scaly reptiles stick out their forked tongues menacingly: king snakes, cobras, copper-headed muzzles, a 4-meter yellow anaconda, a boa constrictor and a python. Small crocodile caimans and sharp-faced Gangetic gharials doze under a glass dome next to a shallow pond.<\/p>\n

The third floor is the kingdom of insects and anurans. Small spiders, caterpillars and grasshoppers are sometimes difficult to distinguish among the thickets of grass, which cannot be said about larger creatures. The furry 30-centimeter tarantula causes fear, even when behind glass, and the blue color of the poison dart frog is perfectly visible behind bright plants.<\/p>\n

Opening hours<\/a> and ticket prices<\/a><\/h2>\n

The doors of the Berlin Zoo are open 365 days<\/a> a year. Opening hours<\/a> depend on the seas<\/a>on:<\/p>\n

On December<\/a> 24 and 31, the zoo is open until 14:00.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be bought online on the official website<\/a> or at the box office.<\/p>\n

The cost of visiting the zoo or aquarium area<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The cost of visiting the zones of the zoo and aquarium:<\/p>\n

For those of you who are frequent visitors to the metropolis, the Berlin Zoo offers a combined annual pass. Its cost is 73 \u20ac for adults and 37 \u20ac for children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Where is it located and how to<\/a> get there<\/a><\/h2>\n

The main zoo of the German capital has two entrances. The front gate is located at Budapest<\/a>er Strasse 32. You can get here at:<\/p>\n

The second entrance, located at Hardenbergplatz 8, lies in close proximity to the Zoologischer Garten railway station, one of the city's central transport<\/a> hubs. Metro lines, regional trains, city electric trains and main bus route<\/a>s intersect here:<\/p>\n

Note to tourists<\/a>: for guests who are in love with the world of fauna, Berlin has prepared another gift<\/a> – the second city zoo Tierpark, which is located in the eastern part of the capital on an area of \u200b\u200b160 hectares. On the vast territory of the landscape safari park, in conditions as close as possible to natural, 9,000 animals live. Address<\/a>: Am Tierpark 125.<\/p>\n

Berlin Zoo on the map<\/h2>\n