Copenhagen Zoo

Copenhagen Zoo (København Zoo) is a zoological garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1859, it is one of the oldest zoos in Europe. It comprises 11 hectares and is located in the municipality of Frederiksberg, between the parks of Frederiksberg Park and Søndermarken. It is the most visited zoo and 4th most visited attraction in Denmark. The zoo is noted for its new Elephant House designed by the world-famous British architect Sir Norman Foster. The zoo maintains and promotes a number of European breeding programmes and is active in the safeguarding several endangered species.

Copenhagen Zoo was founded by the ornithologist Niels Kjærbølling in 1859. He was given Prinsess Vilhelmines Have, the summer garden of Princess Vilhelmine, by the chief directorate of Copenhagen. The animals that the visitors could contemplate at the opening were eagles, chickens, ducks, owls, rabbits, a fox, a seal in a bathtub and a turtle in a bucket. In the early years the zoo focused on showing as many different types of animals as possible, but as animal welfare later became an issue, the number of different species has dropped in favour of more space to each animal. In 1901 the zoo displayed 25 Indians - men, women and children - in an exhibition where the "brown exotic" people went about their daily lives in palm tree leaf huts constructed in the middle of the zoo. One of the most notable animals kept there was a male slow worm that lived there from 1892 to 1946 (for 54 years, which is a record among lizards).

A notable and highly-visible feature of the zoo is the wooden observation tower. 43.5 metres high, it offers views of the surrounding parklands and city. The tower was built in 1905 and is one of the tallest observation towers built of wood in the world. Its base is similar to that of Eiffel Tower.

During the last 25 years, Copenhagen Zoo has been undergoing a renovation project aimed at replacing cages with enclosures which recreate animals' natural environments, giving a better lifestyle to the animals, and a more realistic experience to visitors. The Elephant House and 1.5-hectare Savanna are results of these efforts. The Savanna includes a Hippopotamus House where the hippos can be watched underwater.

The new Elephant House, opened in June 2008, is designed by Norman Foster in cooperation with the Danish landscape architect Stig L Andersson. It contains two glass-domed enclosures. The enclosures open out through mighty rusted steel doors into am almost 1 hectare big landscaped paddock with a pool 3 metres deep and 60 metres long. The paddock's border with Frederiksberg Park, once a 3-metre high wall, has been opened up so that people in the park can now watch the elephants. This has been done because the zoo, with its central location is very much a city zoo, wants to integrate with the urban landscape. At the same time it affords the elephants distant views of open parkland and ancient trees.

Copenhagen Zoo is the only zoo outside of Australia that has Tasmanian Devils in captivity.

Source of description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Zoo wikipedia
Price definition of price normal : 140.00 child : 0.00 (age <3) youth : 80.00 (age 3-11)
Geographical coordinates 55.6727780, 12.5213890
Address 2000 Frederiksberg, Roskildevej 32
Opening date 1859
Area 11.00
More information official website

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