Description of the attraction
One of the most beautiful protected areas of Kaliningrad is the zoo, combined with an arboretum, located in the city center. The animal park was founded by German entrepreneur Hermann Klass in 1896. Today the Kaliningrad Zoo is the oldest and largest of all zoos in modern Russia.
In the eighties of the nineteenth century Hermann Klass, curator of a craft exhibition in Königsberg, with the support of the head of the Zoological University of Albertina - Maximilian Brown, buys out the exhibition wooden pavilions and creates the Tiergarten ("animal garden") society. Before the grand opening of the zoo (May 21, 1896), the collection of the park's pets reached 900 specimens of 262 species of animals and birds. The heyday of the Konigsberg Zoo came in 1910, when the zoo was home to 2,161 animals, which was the largest collection of animals in Europe. After the storming of Konigsberg (1945), the zoo was completely destroyed, and of the pets, only a fallow deer, a donkey, a badger and a hippopotamus with seven bullet wounds remained. The wounded animal named "Hans" was seen by veterinarians, and since then the hippopotamus has become the symbol of the Kaliningrad Zoo.
Today, the Kaliningrad Zoo covers an area of over 16 hectares, which is home to more than 3500 animals and 150 species of rare plants. The entire territory of the park is landscaped and framed with beautiful landscapes. The entrance to the park is decorated with a sculptural composition of animals, and on the picturesque alleys there are gazebos and pre-war sculptures of the Konigsberg Zoo.
The most valuable architectural landmark of the zoo is the central pre-war fountain, the jets of which rise to an eighteen-meter height. The most valuable exhibit in the arboretum is the relict ginkgo tree.
There are attractions, playgrounds, cafes and a mini-zoo for young visitors. For exotic lovers, an aquarium and a terrarium with 60 species of fish and reptiles are open.
