Description of the attraction
Amsterdam Zoo officially bears the Latin name Natura Artis Magistra, which means "Nature is the teacher of art." In everyday life, the zoo is simply called Artis. Above the three entrances to the zoo, one word from the Latin name is written, but most often people used the central one, above which Artis is written - so the visitors decided that the zoo was called that.
Artis is not only a zoo, as we used to understand it - it also houses a planetarium, an aquarium, a botanical garden and a collection of art objects. It is one of the oldest zoos in continental Europe and the oldest in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1838, and was opened to the public only from 1851, during September. Since 1920, the zoo has been open to the public all year round.
There are 27 historical buildings on the territory of the zoo. The aquarium was built in 1882, the library in 1867. The buildings that now house wolves (a former hotel) and red ibises existed on this site even before the zoo was founded. The library of Artis has an excellent collection of books on the history of zoology and botany, as well as the library of the zoo itself, the Zoological Museum of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Botanical Garden.
The zoo contains over 700 species of animals, many of which are rare and endangered. The zoo sees one of its main tasks in the preservation and reproduction of rare species. Great efforts are being made to produce offspring from such species. The zoo takes part in many international programs and collaborates with other zoos around the world.
