Official Description

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Visitor Reviews

This review submitted by Niels Johs Legarth Iversen: November 2000
This place is a classic (maybe that is why it has always been among the most expensive zoos in Germany to visit). It was founded in 1848 when a man named Carl Hagenbeck jr. didn't know what to do with two seals in a tub.Then he put up a sign saying that people could experience all the marvels of the animal world in action against the payment of a wee sum of money. Later he got many more animals, enough to sell out of them to his fellow zoo directors all over Europe. Still later he got the idea that one could dispense with the fences around the animals just by digging trenches in strategic places. This was the beginning of modern zoo management and smart Mr. Hagenbeck duly got the idea patented in 1896. In 1907 the zoo opened in its present location in a suburb named Stellingen, and all zoo interested people in the world went on pilgrimage there to see how to organize a modern zoo. Almost the whole thing had to be reconstructed and repopulated after the second world war, but it still is a manifestation of the foresight of the most influential man in zoo history, and it is still family owned. Well enough history for now, let's have a look at the present institution. To see everything, just follow the official route which is marked with numbers on every exhibit. You pass a flamingo lake and a savanna area with zebras, defassa waterbucks and ostriches, and next thing you see an artificial mountain with tahrs from Himalaya. It has been rebuilt, but its history goes back to the beginning of the century. The number series expects you to stay earthbound, but any sane and able person of course clamper up the narrow staircase to the top of the mountain to admire the scenery from above. Please climb down again and continue the tour. You walk round the lions enclosure, see the giraffes, kudus and springbocks and then pass the mountain once again. Next you cross an oriental looking red bridge (there are buddhas hidden in the grass) and arrive at a service area with the old man's animal training hall, a souvenir booth and a restaurant. Now you see the American bisons to your left, plus a totem pole (no Buddhas here). Pass the leopards and tigers, and next thing you tumble backwards in time. Hagenbeck's has always something in store to surprise you, and here it is a collection of dinosaur models in and around a small lake. When I first saw these models in 1972, they were uniformly grey, but since then fashion has changed (plus our knowledge of these old critters), and now they are painted in gay colours – though of course nobody knows what the original colours were one hundred million years ago. Beyond this timelapse zone there has traditionally been a collection of indian and african elephants, but at my last visit this summer they were building a new elephant house in another location. Further on you meet the orangs, camels and crocodiles – strange neighbourhood! – before you return towards the restaurant, and from here you are led back to the central mountain, though this time from the other side. And from here you are heading towards the exit. Frankly, without the numbers most visitors would get lost! One of the last things you see is a section with polar bears, humboldt penguins, seals, sea lions and walrusses. The biggest and oldest walrus 'Antje' (a female) is the beloved mascot of the North German Television, shown just before every block of commercials. To get out to Stellingen take underground train U2 from the Hauptbahnhof. From the local station out there is just 5 minutes walk to the entrance.

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