Zoo

Situated in the city center on the bank of the river Vistula the Zoo is one of the favorite walking places for the small residents of Warsaw. It is no wonder, while there you can see real elephants, hippopotamuses, bears and many other funny animals and fearful creatures.

The city zoo opened in 1928 wasn't the first zoological garden in Warsaw. The tradition of keeping wild animals at court or in the residents of rich nobleman had existed in Europe quite for a long time. A private zoo was an evidence of the wealth of its owner. In the late 17th century, King Jan III Sobieski had his own menagerie in which exotic animals were kept. In the 19th and the early 20th centuries there were several private zoological gardens in Warsaw, but by the second decade of the 20th century they had been closed. In 1927 municipal government decided to establish the city's zoological garden and soon it was opened. During World War II the Zoo suffered great damages: many cages and aviaries were destroyed by German bombardment, some of the animals escaped into the city, others died from starvation, and the surviving rare animals were taken away to Germany. Then director of the Zoo, Jan Zabinski, is considered to be a hero. During the 1944 Uprising he sheltered many Jews who had escaped the ghetto and activists of the Polish underground inside the grounds of the Zoo. In postwar years, thanks to the help of zoological organizations from around the world, Warsaw zoo was reconstructed and re-opened in 1949. Recently the Zoo has celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Over the last several years the Zoo has changed greatly. Housing conditions have been improved greatly, about 90% of buildings have been repaired, and new spacious open-air cages have been built. But modernization of the Zoo hasn't been finished yet, while the Zoo is getting ready to Poland joining the European Union that makes high demands of keeping wild animals. In the Zoo a relatively new tradition of animal adoption exists. Nowadays anyone, a citizen or a firm, can take custody of an animal and pay all the necessary expenses on its keeping and feeding. The names of the adoptive parents can be read on the tablets on the cages.

There are over 70 species of animals from all over the world including endangered and rare species. You can see pandas, cheetahs, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, aurochs, zebras and many other animals. You and your children will certainly like interesting collection of reptiles, some exhibits of which are like little monsters, others are quite attractive.

For small children bright playgrounds have been built, for elder kids there are regular special education programs where they can learn a lot of interesting facts about the wonderful world of animals. In special pavilions adults and children can communicate with animals and pat on the back the one you like.

The Zoo is opened all year round. It is waiting for its visitors from 9:00 to 18:00 in warm seasons and from 9:00 till 15:00 in winter.