From a Restaurant to a Zoo
The history of the Zoo Leipzig dates back to the 19th century. Influenced by stories about wild animals and distant countries, people's fantasies about the big, wide world were stimulated at that time. The restaurateur Ernst Wilhelm Pinkert, born in Hirschfelde in 1844, moved to Leipzig in 1863. Ten years later he leased the "Zum Pfaffendorfer Hof" restaurant. This had previously been used by Leipzig butchers to house animals before they were slaughtered. After the landlord re-established the restaurant, he opened the "Pfaffendorfer Tierpark" on the animal meadow behind it on 9 June 1878 - around one hectare in size and the 23rd zoo in all of Europe. Around 4.500 visitors came to the opening on the Whitsun weekend. In order to breathe more life into his restaurant, Ernst Pinkert began an exhibition of exotic animals in 1876 in cooperation with his partner Carl Hagenbeck - a Hamburg animal dealer who shaped zoo architecture worldwide with his invention of naturalistic outdoor enclosures.
The old Pfaffendorfer Hof was demolished in 1898. One year later, Pinkert converted the zoo into a joint-stock company, so that he was both chairman and director. In addition, administrative buildings, the zoo entrance, a social hall with a restaurant (today the zoo's congress hall), a concert garden, a monkey house and the new predator house were built. Even then, the zoo gained a reputation as an internationally renowned recreational facility that combines leisure, education, science and research. In 1909, Ernst Wilhelm Pinkert died in Leipzig following a serious illness that had lasted seven years. Buried in the North Cemetery on Berliner Straße, numerous monuments still commemorate the founder of the Zoo Leipzig. Johannes Gebbing took over for the next 25 years. However, when the trained natural scientist was drafted during the First World War, no one was actively looking after the grounds - the zoo fell into disrepair. As money was also tight, the zoo lent animals to film productions. The rising costs caused the zoo to become financially illiterate. For this reason, it became the property of the city of Leipzig in 1920.
Together with his successor, Karl Max Schneider, Gebbing started the reconstruction of the zoo after the war – even though he was already retired. Karl Max Schneider's career in Zoo Leipzig started as an assistant in 1920. In 1934 he was finally appointed director. His main interest was lion breeding – he even exported to Africa and made the Zoo Leipzig once again became a world-class zoo. The breeding and subsequent release of lions born in captivity is one of his most important achievements. Schneider also focused heavily on the psychology of the animals and their breeding.
A Zoo with Tradition
After Ernst Wilhelm Pinkert laid the foundation stone of the zoo, it was expanded year after year. The aquarium was built in 1910, and a terrarium was added in 1913. The elephant house opened in 1926. The free-flight aviaries were also built in 1928 and the famous Jason monument, acquired by Johannes Gebbing, was erected. The bear castle was inaugurated one year later. In 1934, several facilities were built: the rhesus monkeys, baboons and penguins were given a new home. A children's zoo also opened as a petting zoo.
However, the Second World War also left its mark on Zoo Leipzig. Almost two thirds of the employees were drafted into the Wehrmacht. Nevertheless, the zoo was able to record a new record number of visitors: 840.000 guests in 1942 - more than ever before. However, the zoo suffered severe losses in its animal population due to air raids.
After the war, the zoo was able to recover. In 1955, the first apprentices finally began their training to become state-approved zoo animal keepers. In 1969, there were further innovations: the bird house with free-flight hall opened its doors to visitors. At the same time, on September 1st, the zoo invited visitors to the so-called “zoo school” for the first time. To this day, this offer is intended to give students experience in nature and to contribute to raising awareness of the issues of species protection and diversity. In 1976, the outdoor ungulate enclosure was completed, so that Chinese water deer, African pygmy goats and Australian Bennett’s wallabies could now move into Zoo Leipzig.
In 1990, the zoo's financial situation deteriorated dramatically again. Therefore, shortly before the monetary union, the city of Leipzig blocked all accounts. The zoo was consequently given the status of a municipally run company, a form of public facility. At the same time, critical voices about the way animals are kept in zoos became louder and louder. To counteract this, the new zoo director, Prof. Jörg Junhold, a qualified veterinarian and honorary professor at the University of Leipzig, developed the "Zoo of the Future" concept, which was approved by the city council on June 14, 2000. This was accompanied by the conversion into a GmbH, which has been owned by the city of Leipzig ever since.
In the following years, the zoo was expanded to include numerous unique theme worlds. In 2001, the lion savanna Makasi Simba and the great ape enclosure Pongoland opened. This was followed by the inauguration of the sloth bear gorge in 2002 and the conversion of the historic predator house into the discovery house Ark. The zoo also built the tiger taiga, including an underwater window through which you can watch the big cats. In addition to the completed Kiwara savanna, the zoo received its own parking garage, a forest enclosure for okapis and an elephant temple with sand and bathing pools.
The biggest milestone in the history of Zoo Leipzig was inaugurated in 2011: after four years of construction, Gondwanaland opened - Europe's largest covered tropical hall. The adventure world was opened on June 30th by the then Prime Minister of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, and Leipzig's Mayor Burkhard Jung with a symbolic handover of a machete to the zoo director Jörg Junhold. On an area of 16.500 square metres, visitors can immerse themselves in an exotic tropical world and explore the hall on foot or by boat. The construction project cost 66,8 million euros and, with a circular path and a treetop path over 90 metres long at a height of 12 metres, makes the formation of the primeval continent come alive in a multimedia way. In total, the tropical hall contains 131 large trees and around 16.000 other plants of 500 different species. Some animals are allowed to enjoy unlimited access to the air, water and ground. It is therefore quite possible that iguanas, geckos, frogs, olis, quails or praying mantises will be lurking on the paths during a tour. The temperature in the hall is between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius. In order to maintain this constant, the hall is cooled in summer by an air exchange and heated in winter. Two main ventilation systems ensure that overheating is avoided, so that the roof windows open automatically when the temperature exceeds 28 degrees. The roof consists of ETFE foil cushions - the pressure of these cushions can be adjusted depending on the weather and requirements. The roof can also be heated in winter to keep it free of snow. Ventilation inlets that spray water ensure the high humidity - the basic humidification is provided by the 10-meter-high waterfall in Gondwanaland. The entire system of heating and ventilation systems is based on district heating and energy recovery, thus underlining the zoo's sustainability concept.
In 2014, the Leopard Valley for African leopards, the Flamingo Lagoon and the inauguration of the new zoo exit followed. The following year, the Kiwara Kopje and the Bear Castle playground were opened to the public. After the historic monkey house was converted into the Koala House in 2016, the Himalayan high mountain landscape for snow leopards and red pandas was opened in 2017. The theme worlds of Pampa, Pantanal and Patagonia were also added.
At the same time, the Congress Hall was transformed into a modern and multifunctional cultural, exhibition and administrative centre with a far-reaching renovation concept. It had been a social centre since the 19th century and was one of the most important event locations inthe city. Designed by the Leipzig architect Heinrich Rust, the building is characterized by numerous Art Nouveau elements. From 2001, the citizens' initiative "Leipzig Congress Hall" was able to push ahead with a renovation as part of the zoo's 125th anniversary - the first construction phase began in 2010. A new wing was built alongside four new congress halls. The ceremonial opening of the new Congress Hall at the zoo followed on May 29, 2015. Today it is considered an important conference and congress centre with 15 halls and rooms and space for up to 1.200 people. It is operated by the Congress Center of the Leipzig Trade Fair.
The Zoo of the Future
The "Zoo of the Future" concept divides the site at Pfaffendorfer Strasse 29 into six different themed areas: Africa, Asia, South America, Founders' Garden, Pongoland and Gondwanaland. Since 2010, this master plan has been gradually implemented in three phases and is intended to create modern, spacious and natural habitats for the animals. The theme worlds are based on the natural habitats of the animal inhabitants. The zoo school is also part of this master plan: founded in 1969, the zoo offers students and teachers educational support with interdisciplinary offers for students of all classes and types of school. In addition, the "Actionbound" app can be used to take a quiz tour of the zoo, where questions about the animal world are answered via smartphone.
The protection of endangered species and conservation breeding have always been part of the zoo's credo. It maintains four international studbooks (ISB) and one European studbook (ESB) and also coordinates four European conservation breeding programs (EEP). These include, for example, the tiger studbook since 1973 - the oldest in the world with over 9.000 registered individuals and the international Sumatran rhino studbook. In addition to close cooperation with the Leibnitz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, the zoo is involved in the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) to protect wild chimpanzees and in a species protection project on Borneo to preserve the Sabah rhino.
Diversity is a top priority
The Zoo Leipzig offers not only a unique variety of animals, but also numerous teaching and educational opportunities. But there is still plenty of fun to be had: the zoo offers a wide variety of locations for private parties as well as corporate events. Eight themed venues, such as the Concert Garden, the Palm Hall, Gondwanaland, the Kiwara Kopje or the Hacienda Las Casas, offer unique places to host events. A themed supporting program can be booked individually. The zoo also attracts visitors with special evening events. For example, the Asian Summer Night, the Festa do Brasil or the African Dinner allow visitors to experience the zoo in a whole new way.
Further Information