Tierpark Hellabrunn is the name of the zoological garden in the Bavarian capital Munich. The 36 ha park is situated on the right bank of the river Isar in the southern part of Munich, near the quarter of Thalkirchen . As the groundwater level here is rather high and the water is of very good quality, the zoo can covers its needs for drinking water by using wells.

History

On February 25, 1905, the Verein Zoologischer Garten München e.V. (Engl. Society of the Zoological Garden of Munich) was founded and the Hellabrunn area was chosen as the location for the zoo.
On August 1, 1911, the zoo, planned by the famous architect Emanuel von Seidl , opened for the public for the first time, but in 1922, it had to be closed again due to the economy crisis .
After the re-opening on May 23, 1928, the Tierpark Hellabrunn became the first Geo-Zoo in the world and got plaudits for the re-breeding of extinct animals like the Aurochs and the Tarpan.

During World War II, the zoo was largely destroyed by bombs of the allied liberators, but it was already able to reopen in May 1945.

In 1970, a plan for the renovation of the zoo was drawn up.

Hellabrunn in the present

Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Henning Wiesner, Hellabrunn is today the largest and—scenically—the most fascinating zoo in Europe. The preserves of the animals—about 7,700 vertebrates of 340 different species—are arranged along geographic lines.

In 2003, about 1.4 million people visited Hellabrunn.

Attractions

• The old Elephant-House: Constructed in 1914, it then had the largest concrete dome in the world
• The new Rainforest-House
• The Aquarium with the Piranha-feeding
• Many other buildings like the Polarium

External links

1. Website of the Zoo
2. Webcams at Hellabrunn
3. http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/view.py?id=496
4. http://www.tierparkfreunde.de/0_willkommen/main.htm
5. https://ssl.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/schwerpunkt/348/17331/