Zoo with a view

Successful change of perspective

Whereas in the past the focus was on presenting the zoo animals, today their welfare becomes first priority.

Zoo Salzburg

Zoo Salzburg

Zoo Salzburg

Back then

Officially opened in April 1961 as a  "Bergweltzoo", the original concept of only keeping animals that occur in the local Alps was quickly abandoned. Just six months later, two leopards, a lioness and, shortly afterwards, two chimpanzees moved in. In the early days, the zoo animals were housed in very simple enclosures and had little opportunity to retreat. Although enthusiasm and love for animals were always evident, there is a world of difference between the mountain zoo of that time, or later Hellbrunn Zoo, and today's Salzburg Zoo. Experience and knowledge only came with the passing of time. However, Salzburg Zoo already set standards with its big cat enclosure, completed in the early 1980s, and its bear enclosure, which opened in 1990. On the other hand, the spectacular view of the legendary Untersberg, the northern massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps, has always been there. Of course, this was also the case when an archbishop's game park was first mentioned on the historic site in 1424, which was expanded around 200 years later by the builder of Hellbrunn Palace to include various native animal species.

Frans van Arkel_Rainbow Eyes Photography

Zoo Salzburg/Angelika Köppl

Kerstin Joensson

Today

The white-handed gibbons swing from branch to branch, seemingly weightless. No sooner have they settled in the treetops with a view of the main entrance on one side and the steep rock face of Hellbrunn Mountain on the other than they begin their characteristic song. Do they sense that a particularly tasty surprise is in store for them soon? While the little apes are in gourmet mode, the jaguars may be romping in the water and the black antelopes may be moving across the large African meadow at a respectful distance from the white rhinos. What began decades ago continues today as a common thread throughout Salzburg Zoo. Spacious, well-structured and natural enclosures with barely noticeable boundaries, depending on the species, are now part of the zoo's appearance. Every animal always has the opportunity to retreat. This fact, as well as the attitude of preferring to forego some species in favour of offering the native and exotic animals currently living at Salzburg Zoo a species-appropriate home, is 100 per cent in line with our philosophy. For example, there have been no great apes since the mid-1980s. What makes a visit to Salzburg Zoo so valuable today is, among other things, the feeling of observing the animals in a natural environment and the certainty that their needs are respected and honoured.