Kaliningrad Zoo

The Kaliningrad Zoo was founded in 1896 as the Königsberg Tiergarten in the then German town of Königsberg, which in 1945 became part of Russia and was renamed Kaliningrad. Thus, the zoo is one of the oldest zoological gardens in Russia, and one of the largest. Its collection, which extends over 16.5 ha, comprises 315 species with a total of 2264 individual animals (as of 2005).

The Kaliningrad zoo is also an arboretum. Sights include not only animals, but also rare plants like a relict ginkgo tree which was coeval with the dinosaurs.

The zoo also has animal sculptures, including a bronze statue of an elk and a stone statue of an orangutan. The entrance is decorated by a sculpture of many animals. The grounds include pre-war buildings and a fountain.

History

German period

The site of the modern zoo was home in 1895 to the Northeast German industrial and craft exhibition. Its supervisor Hermann Claaß proposed keeping the wooden pavilions to make a zoo. This idea met with support and enthusiasm among Königsbergers, as the creation of a zoo had been discussed since the 1880s.

On August 22, 1895 the "Tiergarten Society" was created to realize the plan. Its chairman was privy councillor Maximillian Braun, head of the zoological institute at the University of Königsberg. The press actively supported the project, having given Königsbergers an opportunity to express their opinion in the newspapers.

Using the society dues and with the financial help of patrons of art...
Read More