Gross-Gerau pheasantry

Gross-Gerau pheasantry
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particularities	Groß-Gerau zoo and adventure playground
place	Fasanerie 1 ; 64521 Gross-Gerau
surface	Pheasantry: 29 ha ; Zoo: 3.5 ha
opening	1722–1726 (pheasantry) / 1958 (animal park)
Animal species	about 75 species
Individuals	approx. 300 animals
Species focus	Native and European species
organization
management	Stephan Müller (animal park)
Sponsorship	Tiergarten eV Fasanerie Groß Gerau (animal park)
	https://www.tiergarten-grossgerau.de/

49.90672 8.47963Coordinates: 49 ° 54 ′ 24.2 " N , 8 ° 28 ′ 46.7" E

The Fasanerie Groß-Gerau is a wooded park in the Hessian district town Groß-Gerau southwest of Frankfurt am Main .

In the southern part of the pheasantry there is an adventure playground next to the zoo.

Geographical location

The park is located on the southern outskirts of Groß-Gerau in the Dornberg district and borders the B 44 in the direction of Berkach . Opposite the park are the remains of Dornberg Castle , of which an archway still stands today and which was previously part of the park area. To the east is the municipality of Büttelborn .

history

Pond in the pheasantry

Pyramidal oak

The pheasantry was established between 1722 and 1726. The surrounding wall with which the park is fenced in was built with stones from the former Dornberg Castle, which was destroyed by French troops in 1689 as a result of the Palatinate Wars of Succession . At that time, the park served the Dukes of Darmstadt and other noble families resident in Hesse as a recreation area and as a private hunting reserve for driven hunts such as parforce hunts . At that time, the park area mainly housed pheasants , but also red deer and fallow deer , which were specially settled there for the hunts of the nobility.

The park is mainly forested with Central European mixed forest . There are several playgrounds in the park. It is a popular local recreation area.

Within the park, an almost 100 year old pyramid oak ( Quercus robur Fastigiata ) protrudes, which stands at the main intersection in the middle of the pheasantry. The oak was designated as a special natural monument in 2013 .

Zoo

The zoo , which is located within the pheasantry, was founded at the instigation of the zoo association in 1958 to give primarily native animal species a home, to protect them sustainably and to make them accessible to the public. Embedded in the park, the approximately four hectare zoo houses around 300 animals of 75 different species. Native but also exotic animal species are shown.

Wildlife includes: European fallow deer, sheep , goats , chickens , Shetland ponies, poitouesel, guanaco, guinea pigs , rheas , parrots , peacocks and pot-bellied pigs . Visitors can feed the animals with special game feed.

The animal population is looked after by two full-time animal keepers. It is open to visitors all year round and is handicapped accessible. Every year around 40,000 visitors visit the pheasantry's zoo.

Storm damage 2011

On August 24, 2011, several enclosures in the zoo were damaged or destroyed in a severe thunderstorm, so that some animals had to be taken to emergency shelters. Due to this damage, the zoo is in a phase of restructuring and is currently being modernized and expanded. The zoo area is to be expanded to an area of 3.5 hectares. Among other things, new and larger aviaries are being built for the large population of birds .