History
Pfaueninsel, or Peacock Island, on the Havel river between Berlin and Potsdam was the origin of Berlin's Zoos. The Prussian King Frederick William III developed the island for his summer residence and set up a private zoo with a birdhouse, a waterfowl pond, a bear pit, and enclosures for kangaroos, llamas, deer, and water buffalo. This collection of animals was not only for the king's pleasure, but also open to the public on certain days. Frederick William IV, successor of the founder of the royal menagerie, had very little in mind for the animal residents of the island. When the horticultural director Peter Joseph Lenné, and the Africa explorer Martin Hinrich Lichtenstein joined forces in providing the Berliners with a proper zoo, the king personally decreed that most of the animals on Peacock Island should be donated to this new establishment. The location chosen was an area of the royal pheasantry on the edge of the original menagerie. After a construction period of only three years the zoo opened its doors on 1 August 1844. It was the first zoo in Germany and the ninth in Europe. The new establishment progressed only sluggishly over the following twenty-five years because the Zoo was situated far outside the historical city limits of Berlin, and public transport was a thing of the future. But more importantly the enterprise suffered from lack of money. As a measure to improve its economic base the Zoo in 1845 was granted the legal form of a joint stock company, a form it has maintained to the present day. Nevertheless stock sales did not take off smoothly, because wealth had not yet accumulated in agrarian Germany, where industrialisation had only just begun. In the 1850s and 1860s times changed and the economic situation improved, and when a new series of shares of Berlin Zoo were created they were sold immediately.
In 1869 Heinrich Bodinus was appointed the first full-time zoo director. He had run Cologne Zoo with great success, from where he brought with him a wealth of ideas. These included ornamenting the Zoo with exotic style animal houses as Antwerp Zoo had been doing previously. So, 1871 witnessed the opening of the magnificent Antelope House with four minarets that as one of the principal sights in Berlin even served a few months later as the setting for a meeting between three European rulers: the German Emperor William I, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria and Hungary, and the Russian Tsar Alexander II. The Antelope House was followed by the Indian style Elephant House, the Egyptian Ostrich House, the Japanese Wader House, the picturesque Elephant Gate, and the Arabian style houses for solipeds. This time of vigorous building also gave rise to numerous music pavilions and the enormous restaurant with its terraces, a setting for the greater part of the German capital's social life. In 1888 Ludwig Heck took over management and paid much attention to the animal collection, which flourished to extent with incredible breeding results. Being methodically and thorough he attached great importance to providing the visitor with as comprehensive an overview as possible of the animal kingdom's diversity. The number of mammals and bird species shown in Berlin could very soon compete with that of London Zoo. In 1913 the great aquarium was opened. Its three storeys were home to sweet- and saltwater fish, reptiles (the crocodile hall on the first floor was the first walk-in animal enclosure inside a building), amphibians, and a large number of invertebrates. The aquarium was planned by Oskar Heinroth, not only an able aquarium manager, but above all an international name in the field of ornithology. He is considered to be the founder of comparative ethology, and Konrad Lorenz always referred to him as his teacher.
World War I and the economic crisis imposed restrictions, but the zoo quickly recovered. Under the management of Lutz Heck (1932-1945), son of Ludwig, the zoo soon got a facelift. Where magnificent buildings once stood there were now naturalistic outdoor exhibits according Carl Hagenbeck's idea of bar-less zoos: seal and penguin rocks, baboon rocks, lion steppe, and mountain animal rocks. Expeditions to Ethiopia, East Africa, Finland, Canada, and Cameroon returned with some interesting and rare animals for the zoo. Unlike WWI, World War II proved fatal to the zoo. The first bombs fell in 1941. Further heavy bombardment came in 1943 and 1944. A large number of buildings were destroyed, the Antelope house survived. Virtually the whole infrastructure was gone. And just 91 animals survived the chaos - including two lions, two hyenas, one Asian bull elephant, one bull hippopotamus, ten hamadryas, one chimpanzee, one Oriental white stork, and one shoebill.
The post-war years were marked by severe financial straits, shortage of food and manpower, the Berlin Blockade, and other adversities. Only the dedication of both Katharina Heinroth (1945-1956) and Werner Schröder (1952-1977) are to thank for laying the foundations for reconstruction. Under the management of Heinz-Georg Klös (1956-1991) the zoo was rebuilt and expanded to plan. The new buildings were the monkey houses, the birdhouse, the service yard, the outdoor bear enclosures, the predator house with its nocturnal animal section, the annex to the aquarium, and the development grounds in the former diplomats' quarter. Also in this period the foundations were laid for many highly successful breeding groups, including African black rhinoceroses, Przewalski's horses, babirusas, collared peccaries, marsh and pampas deer, bongos, gaurs, and many primates and birds. These were followed by extensive tree care measures, faithful reproductions of historical buildings, many animal sculptures, and the founding of the zoo school, to name but a few. A highlight to mention is probably the role Berlin Zoo played in saving the Père David's deer from extinction.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and German Reunification proved a new turning point for the zoo. Berlin, where the Tierpark was founded in 1955 in the Friedrichsfelde district, suddenly had two zoos. It was clear to all those responsible in politics that they had to be retained and complement each other. A cooperation agreement was concluded that up to the present day has formed the basis of close collaboration. This agreement aims in particular towards maintaining and developing each zoo's quite special character. Like the inner city zoo (Berlin Zoo) with its many animal houses and the great aquarium, and the expansive landscape park (the Tierpark) with large-scale enclosures. The cooperation agreement must be born in mind when evaluating the development over the last few years. The Tierpark stopped keeping apes, and several species of hoofed animals were transferred from Berlin Zoo to the Tierpark, and a number of representatives were no longer replaced after their deaths, e.g. the square-lipped rhinoceros. No doubt the future will see “standard animals” regarded as important to the public being housed in both zoos. In all other cases there should be attempts to avoid any duplicates. Both zoos together are at present home to an animal population whose diversity and rareness cannot even be approached by any other city.
(Sources: website Berlin Zoo; “Zoo and Aquarium History” by Vernon N. Kisling, jr.)
Visit(s)
02.05.2018
to be added soon
07.06.2009
Berlin zoo provides a sense of cleanliness. Indoor enclosures for all felines have basically the same construction: coated concrete floor and tiled walls (both of a greenish colour), which is ok for cleaning, but it does give a very clinical/sterile appearance. Not an environment you expect or wishes for when viewing wild animals. When they have covered the concrete floors, woodchips have been used. Unfortunately, the big cats (lions) have to experience the bareness of the concrete floors in their indoors 'cage'. All enclosures contain places where the cats can observe their surroundings from high up.All monkey enclosure have coated concrete on the floor and tiled walls, too. So, the clinical/sterile look seems to be found just about everywhere. This is stressed by the stainless steel climbing equipment as cage enrichment. Though it does not resemble their natural habitat, the monkeys can play at their hearts content with the materials provided.In their outdoor enclosure's architecture they achieved uniformity by using many times a design of a moat with water, a green or rocky living area and preferably a rock face as background. I didn't get the philosophy / plan behind the design of the zoo. What choices have been made? They do try to keep multiple animals of the species they house and exhibit, that's for sure. But their has not been made a clear-cut decision on how to display all these animals. Their primary objective seems to be endangered species, as in most zoos nowadays. But next to this it seems that they have been negotiating between type of species, habitat and continent as their secondary objective for organising the exhibits. Which led to a mix, with for instance predators from all continents together. The same can be said for the ruminants and the ungulates. But now and again you see a more continental arrangement appear.Furthermore the zoo also has European animals at display that are absolutely not threatened with extinction, like reindeer and the European waterbuffalo. Which gives you the idea of just another animal exhibiton without any higher cause.
Gallery
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Video
02.05.2018
A handful of baboon youngsters
After viewing playful activities within the troop of Hamadryas baboon youngsters you'll see how one of the parents shows a neat trick to control one of these little buggers.
How a chimp gets its juicy leaves
The outdoor enclosure of the chimpanzees doesn't provide a lot of tasteful vegetation for the chimps to enjoy. So, the ape in the video is literally reaching out to pick some juicy leaves from the tree just outside the exhibit.
Gorilla foraging behaviour
This male gorilla is collecting the best grass he can find, after which he retreats to the porch where he silently enjoys his late afternoon snack without sharing some with his female companion.
by Androom
The voluntary 'One-Sea-Lion-show' in Berlin Zoo
This is one sea lion who likes to be in the centre of attention and does not want to share the audience with its peer. Beware, this is a voluntary performance, although the California sea lion cannot hide its irritation when a leaf gets stuck in its mouth or is this part of the show too?
Footage (August 2013) kindly provided by Androom, edited by MoosMood.
More info
Knut - the polar bear cub
Knut, the polar bear, died in Berlin Zoo
Knut, the polar bear cub that was raised by hand, has suddenly died in Berlin Zoo, yesterday - 19 March. According to several Zoo visitors he had a seizure and dropped into the water and died, but this has not been confirmed by the Zoo's officials. The cause of death will be established by an autopsy, which is carried out to date. Could it have been stress, because Knut's companions, all females, were not very friendly with him and behaved quite agressive towards him. And was this because he behaved differently, due to being raised by hand (his mother rejected him)? Did he became too familiar with human beings, and their behaviour? There has been a huge controversy back then when he was born. Some said that such a large carnivore species should never be raised by human hands and kept alive, because it was a violation of animal protection legislation. I presume it could have disrupted his behavioural development too, which could have made it hard for him to adapt to polar bear behaviour when he grew up. Others said that it would be a waste to kill the cub, because of the dire situation of the polar bear as a species in the wild, and zoos' contribution to species conservation. And perhaps those people were also anxious to keep the cub alive that made them so proud, and supposedly rich? As it was the first polar bear born on their premises, in their city, since 30 years. Knut was supposed to take part in the Endangered Species breeding Programme of EAZA. I reckon he was nearly ready for being sent to another zoo for breeding purposes. Whatever cause there is for his death, let us hope that lessons can be learnt from his life and his death.
(Source: Moos' blog)
The world famous Knut, who unfortunately passed away in March 2011, when he was still a young and playful cub:
(Source: website Berlin Zoo)
Zoo details
Some additional information, such as contact details and involvement in breeding programmes.
Location
Directions
Directions to Berlin Zoo
Berlin Zoo is easy to reach because it is located directly next to the train station named after it and is therefore just 2 minutes from the stop for two different underground stations and various commuter train lines. So just leave your car behind and ride to the Zoo in an environmentally friendly way using the commuter train, the underground, the bus or the train.
Address:
Hardenbergplatz 8
10787
Berlin
Germany
public transport
By train
Regional train (RE1 + RE2 + RE7 + RE14)
Main-line railway via the main train station
More information on routes, connections, timetables and fares available here.
By S-bahn - local commuter train
S-Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (S5 + S7 + S75 + S9)
By underground
U-Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (U2 + U9)
U-Bahnhof Kurfürstendamm (U1 + U9)
By bus
approx. 15 bus services
Express shuttle bus to the airport
A very good trip planner for any available kind of public transportation you can find here.
by bicycle
Cycling is fairly easy in Berlin and the best way to explore the city. So, rent a bike and go for it. An interesting bicycle rental system is with 'nextbike', a public bike sharing system. You can find nextbike bicycles in more than 30 German cities, including Berlin, and in 14 countries. Although cycling is getting more popular in Germany in general, it is not the safest mode of transport. You should be aware of German car drivers who do not like that they have to share their road with cyclists - or are just ignorant about it. Therefore, cyclists in Berlin demand a better and safer cycle infrastructure. Every last Friday of the month the Critical Mass movement organises a rally by touring the City of Berlin on bike, starting at what they call 'cycle hell' Kreuzberg. Just to show the City the power of the cyclists.
by car
There are various options for reaching the Zoo by car. Choose the route that suits you best by using a route planner.
The Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (Zoo railway station) is well signposted - they will direct you to Hardenbergplatz where you can find parking as well as the Lion Gate entrance.
You will find parking spots for a fee all around the Zoo. However, those are very limited directly at Hardenbergplatz, as it is often jammed with traffic due to visitors arriving at and leaving the Zoo train station.
Please be patient while looking for a parking spot or else make use of one of the nearby parking garages for a fee.
Nürnberger Straße parking garage (2 minutes from the Elephant Gate entrance and Aquarium)
Budapester Straße parking garage (2 minutes from the Elephant Gate entrance and Aquarium, 5 minutes from the Lion Gate)
