Düsseldorf Zoological Garden

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The zoo park with the former water bird pond in 2008

The Düsseldorf Zoological Garden was the zoo in Düsseldorf from 1876 to 1943 , the tradition of which is continued today by the Aquazoo - Löbbecke Museum in the Nordpark .

history

Foundation of the zoo

Plan of the Düsseldorf Zoological Garden around 1908

The animal protection association Fauna , founded in June 1873, had the purpose of "awakening and promoting interest in the animal world" (paragraph 2 of its association statutes). In May 1874, the association organized a very successful poultry exhibition in the Tonhalle on Schadowstrasse , and one month later the General Assembly of Fauna decided to set up a zoological garden in Düsseldorf. In November the association issued a call for the formation of a joint stock company, which was founded on December 14th at the general assembly of the animal welfare association in the Tonhalle.

The inspiration for this zoo came from the well-known zoologist and animal writer Alfred Brehm , who was often a guest of the Düsseldorf animal protection association Fauna . The sponsor of the planned zoo was the new "Aktiengesellschaft Zoologischer Garten" with a capital of 450,000 gold marks. The Graf Recke Foundation acquired 42 acres of arable land with some old oaks in the Düsseldorf-Düsseltal district . Together with Brehm, the park (popularly: Düsseldorf Zoo) was designed on the outskirts of the city based on the plans of the Berlin zoo director Heinrich Bodinus and the court gardener Friedrich Hillebrecht . North of the two seven-acre ponds, a ruin was built for 80,000 gold marks, from whose keep one is said to have had a magnificent view. But there was a lack of animal houses.

Animal park

On May 31, 1876, the zoo was opened with a population of around 200 animals under director Louis van der Snickt . He came from the Ghent Zoological Garden, which he was managing until then, and was a specialist in small pets such as chickens and rabbits and one of the first breeders of budgerigars in Belgium. Two years later the zoologist Johann von Fischer from Gotha became his successor. His main focus was on amphibians and reptiles, but he also traded as far as known in small mammals and birds. Under him, the first major reptile exhibition took place in the Düsseldorf Zoological Garden.

Trade and art exhibition 1880

Site of the trade and art exhibition in the zoo, 1880
Main building for the trade and art exhibition in 1880

From the beginning of May to October 1880, the zoo grounds were used for the Rheinisch-Westfälische Industrie- und Gewerbeausstellung 1880 . The animal enclosures were relocated for the duration of the exhibition and the paths were widened for the large flows of visitors. A profitable business for both sides: The exhibition took place on an attractively designed site and the zoo, which was initially remote, was given a tram connection. Some of the exhibition halls within the zoo grounds later served as animal houses with minor changes.

After the trade exhibition, the zoo boomed and it became the meeting place for Düsseldorf society. In the following 25 years there were numerous national shows with representations of exotic groups of people with their animals, equipment, huts, customs and "bare facts", which were popular, but also quite controversial back then. In 1885 Heinrich Goffart from Cologne became zoo inspector in Düsseldorf. The animal welfare association put down its name "Fauna" in 1887 and has been called "Tierschutzverein für Düsseldorf und Umgebung eV" ever since. In the summer of 1888, a South-West African exhibition took place in the zoo, in which ethnographic objects were shown that the Düsseldorf plantation manager Robert Visser had collected in the Congo. He had been working for a Dutch trading company in the Congo since 1881 and also caught animals on the side and was one of the zoo's suppliers of animals during this time. From 1908 Visser was managing director of the Düsseldorfer Verkehrsverein.

Although it is certainly the most popular institution in Düsseldorf, the zoo was threatened with bankruptcy during this period. In 1905, due to a generous donation from Düsseldorf citizen Gustav Adolf Scheidt , the zoo became the property of the city of Düsseldorf, which continued the zoo as a municipal facility. At that time the zoo had an animal population of 1238 specimens from all over the world. These included a flamingo pond and the artificial castle ruins from 1877. In 1908 Gustav Adolf Scheidt died. The garden was enlarged to a total of 15.9 hectares by changing the site. In the following years the number of visitors was around 300,000. The numerous zoo concerts were particularly popular. Völkerschauen continued to be held in the style of the time : in 1908 Carl Hagenbeck exhibited a Somali troop, and in 1910 the African traveler Carl Marquardt exhibited a Samoan on the playground . In 1913 a farm in the style of a Lower Rhine farm was put into operation.

First World War

Entrance to the zoo park in 1909

During the First World War , the military and refugees were quartered in the restaurants and zoo rooms. The trained staff was called up and difficulties with the medical, technical and feed supply arose. There were considerable losses in the animal population. In 1921 the zoo restaurant was confiscated by the French occupying forces. Nevertheless, it was decided to rebuild. In June 1921, Georg Aulmann , who had been director of the Löbbecke Museum since 1914 , was also given the management of the zoo, which was desolate due to the war and the economic crisis, whereby both institutions were run as one. Under his direction the zoo could even be operated profitably.

Heyday in the 1920s and 1930s

The zoo experienced a second heyday from the mid-1920s when it established itself as the natural science center of Düsseldorf. After the end of the war, the neglected facilities were renovated and in 1925 the polar bear enclosure was renewed. After the GeSoLei expired in 1926, the light fountain there was purchased and rebuilt in the front pond of the zoo park. To the north of the Düssel, an arena with a 3600 m² playing area and 4000 grandstand seats for events was created. In 1928 the old entrance to the zoological garden, which consisted of a small group of half-timbered houses, was demolished and replaced by a new building, and the new monkey house opened. Planning for a new museum building on the zoo site along Brehmstrasse began and after only a short construction period, the Löbbecke Museum in the zoo was opened on June 25, 1930. In 1930, the neighboring natural history museum and the zoo, with a newly designed zoo entrance and a new exhibition house, merged to form a common center and enjoyed a high level of acceptance and a good reputation. From September to December 1936, the Zoological Garden and the Löbbecke Museum carried out an expedition to Cameroon in preparation for the planned Imperial Exhibition of the Creative People in 1937 in the newly created North Park . The zoo had the motto "Africa in Düsseldorf Zoo" with the attraction of a native village in the zoo's arena and, as a permanent facility, "the African steppe", an open-air facility for zebras, ostriches and Watussi cattle, which are south of the polar bear and Connected water buffalo facility. The predator house planned for 1939 with an outdoor area for lions and tigers could no longer be built because of the outbreak of war.

Second World War

During the Second World War there were feed shortages. A sea lion starved to death, monkeys died of colds. In May 1940 the zoological garden was closed due to the threat of air raids by the Allied forces until suitable air raid shelters were completed. A number of predators were shot by order of Hermann Göring, and other animals were housed in the Hanover and Halle / Saale zoos. Bombs fell on the zoo on June 16 and November 3, 1943, over a hundred animals were killed, and a few who had escaped were shot in the city. On April 23 and September 9, 1944, there were further air raids with damage. On November 2, 1944, the zoo and museum were hit by over a hundred explosive bombs and completely destroyed. Some surviving animals wandered the city and were captured or had to be killed.

Museum bunker at the zoo

Part of the collection could be saved and so in 1947 the Löbbecke Museum was rebuilt in an air raid shelter , which was expanded to include an aquarium in 1948 . The facilities moved in 1987 with a greatly expanded collection as the Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum in the Nordpark. On the occasion of the “130 years of Düsseldorf Zoo” anniversary, various celebrations took place in Düsseldorf in 2006.

Zoo park today

The area of ​​the former zoo on Brehmstrasse was converted in 1951 by Ulrich Wolf into a district park, today's "Zoopark", with an area of ​​13.06 hectares. The zoo park is located in the Düsseltal district - also referred to by the locals as the "Düsseldorf Zoo" district - and is bordered by Brehmstrasse, Grunerstrasse, Mathildenstrasse and Faunastrasse. The Düssel flows through the zoo .

There are beautiful trees, a pond, a water playground, two playgrounds, play and sunbathing areas and a dog exercise area. The old trees and the remains of the outside staircase on the western bank of the pond are reminiscent of the old Düsseldorf Zoo. The former Gemsberg, north of the pond, still shows a few remains of the wall.

The ice rink on Brehmstrasse , which is well-known beyond the city limits, is also located on the site, where the traditional Düsseldorfer EG ( DEG Metro Stars ) played until the end of the 2005/06 season .

The Düsseldorf Zoo stop has been located around 500 m southwest of the zoo since 1967 , and its name is also reminiscent of the Düsseldorf Zoo.

outlook

The zoo park was also devastated on June 9, 2014 by the low pressure area Ela and the resulting hurricane in Düsseldorf. Therefore, the creation of a concept for the repair of damage and small improvements to the park was commissioned. However, the responsible landscape architects from Greenbox developed a proposal that provides for extensive redesign. The estimated cost of a renovation is 1.6 million euros. Before the concept is presented to the city council, citizens can submit suggestions and suggestions to the project. The financing is to be determined in a later step.

literature

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Zoopark, History and Development , on City of Düsseldorf, Garden Office
  2. ↑ The Zoopark could be so beautiful , article from the Rheinische Post on October 14, 2015

Coordinates: 51 ° 14 ′ 31 ″  N , 6 ° 48 ′ 19 ″  E