Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden
Main Entrance of Budapest zoo
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| Date opened | 1866 |
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| Location | Budapest, Hungary |
| Coordinates | 47°31′4.88″N 19°04′39.02″E / 47.5180222°N 19.0775056°ECoordinates: 47°31′4.88″N 19°04′39.02″E / 47.5180222°N 19.0775056°E |
| Land area | 18.4 ha |
| No. of animals | 10354 (plus 117 population with unknown numbers) |
| No. of species | 1072 |
| Website | www |
Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden (Hungarian: Fővárosi Állat- és Növénykert) is the oldest zoo park in Hungary and one of the oldest in the world.
It has 1,072 animal species and is located within Városliget Park, unusually for a zoo, it is in the centre of the city.
The zoo opened its doors on 9 August 1866. The park has 1–1.1 million visitors every year. The area is a nature reserve, and has some valuable art nouveau buildings designed by Kornél Neuschloss and Károly Kós . More than 1,000 species are living there. The most special animals that are present in the zoo are the Komodo dragon and from December 2011 the wombat.
The zoo is located in the city centre and can be reached by Line 1 (Budapest Metro)
Official city card (Budapest card) owners get a 25% discount for a single ticket into the zoo.
The Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden is one of the oldest in the world. The idea of the foundation dates back to 1820-30s but it opened only on 9 August 1866. It was an initiation of a group of patriots among others Ágoston Kubinyi, geologist József Szabó, Ágoston Kubinyi, the Director of the National Museum, József Gerenday, the Director of the Botanical Garden of Budapest, and János Xántus, a zoologist, ethnographer, and the first director of the zoo.
At that time, the zoo displayed mainly Hungarian species and some rare species of monkeys, parrots, camels, and kangaroos, among others. Franz Joseph and Queen Elizabeth donated a giraffe and other animals to the zoo. The first lion house opened in 1876 with lions and tigers. An elephant, a hippopotamus, and a rhinoceros joined later on.
However, the initial enthusiasm waned and popularity of the zoo decreased. The new animals were expensive and the expenses of the company founded by the patriots exceeded the revenues. The management hired entertainers and comedians and the corporation was transformed into an animal and plant naturalizing company.
In 1873, Károly Serák was mandated zoo director. He directed for more than 30 years and he managed to maintain the zoo. He hired several artists, such as fire eaters, sword swallowers, and tightrope dancers in order to attract people. The revenues increased and the zoo was able to buy several special or rare animals, such as a hippopotamus and a Sumatran rhinoceros. The zoo housed about 2,000 species. However, as the authorities increased the rental fee and the financial situation of the zoo deteriorated. The company went bankrupt after the Millenium in 1896.
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Wikipedia