The Zagreb City Museum - A journey through the History of the Zoo

The Zagreb Zoological Garden has always attracted a large number of visitors. During the 90 years of its history, it has played a big role in shaping the city’s identity. To mark the important anniversary of this institution, the Zagreb City Museum has staged an interesting exhibition, Zagreb City ZOO 1925-2015

Until the end of October, the exhibition Zagreb City ZOO 1925– 2015 will remain open to the public at the Zagreb City Museum. During the 90 years of its history, the Zagreb city ZOO has played an important role in shaping the identity of Zagreb. 

The Zagreb Zoological Garden was opened on 27 June 1925 at its current location in Maksimir Park. Its founder, civil engineer  Mijo Filipović,  was commissioned by the then Mayor Vjekoslav Heinzel to landscape the park. When it was first opened to the public, the Zoological Garden had only five animals – three foxes and two forest owls. Today, the Zoo spreads over an area of 7 hectares including a lake. 

From the very outset, Zagreb's zoo attracted a large number of visitors while architects and sculptors used it as a source of inspiration. The numerous buildings and sculptures they erected there have an important cultural and historical value. One of the better known such landmarks and a favourite spot for taking photos of children is the so-called Lion Bridge featuring four stone lions. The tower at the very entrance, known as Magical Castle, was erected back in 1926  as the oldest feature in Maksimir Park.

The exhibition at the City Museum follows the development of the Zagreb Zoological Garden from the very outset until today and covers three distinctly different periods in its 90-year long history: the first one, during which coincided with the 30's, the second during the 50's and the last one, which started in the 90's of last century and is still ongoing. Although the main objective of the Zoological Garden is to keep and display animals to the public, a lot of attention is paid to building quality animal enclosures and faithfully simulating their natural habitats. This is the reason why in there are no elephants Zagreb's zoo;  there is simply not enough space for such large and demanding animals. Apart from that, the Zoo plays a major role in raising public awareness about the need to protect animals and the environment. This is why it organizes numerous educational activities including workshops for children, popular scientific and adventure programmes and theatre performances with a certain dose of mystery. The exhibition at the City Museum  also includes a programme of workshops for children, inspired by the once popular children's game Zoological Garden which was on sale in the 20's of last century and is currently kept at the museum as part of its collection.