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History of the Zoo |
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Liberec is situated in a river basin between the Jizera
Mountains and the Ještěd Ridge, with the Nisa river winding
throught it. The town hall is 373 metres above sea level. The
city has a population of 100.000 inhabitants occupying an area
of nearly 15 square km. Visitors are attracted to this city by
its cultural facilities, sporting events, exhibitions, fairs and
beautiful surroundings, which are easily reached by public
transport and the cable car to Ještěd.
While textile and heavy machinery industries made Liberec a
strong industrial city in the 19th century, these activities had
a hazardous impact on the surrounding environment. It is no
wonder then, that the local Natural Historical Society, which
had 900 members, founded the Botanical Gardens way back in 1877.
This club founded parks, managed natural historical collections
and even led the Ornitological club for north Bohemia. It gained
recognition for building the first exposition open to public in
the area of Liberec – large aviaries built in 1904. Over time
ornamental water birds and deers were added. The exposition used
the Hamburg Zoo as a model and paved the way to be able to use
the forest and the valley of the nearby brook.
WWI stopped the activities of the club for some time. But in
the autumn of 1919 the German munipical authorities decided for
a forge ahead and contributed to the opening of the first „Zoopark“
in the area of today’s Czech Republic. Professional teacher
Erich Sluwa was appointed to the position of director and the
garden began to flourish. However, it wasn’t a classic Zoo, it
served mostly as a commercial menagerie. The
animals exhibited there were sold in the autumn. Sometimes
animals from hosting circuses lived at the zoo. This system had
one clear advantage for visitors – they could see more than 500
animals in relatively small area.
WWII affected the state of the Zoo teh most. The area started
to dilapidate, the contiguous buildings reached a critical state.
There was a new director nearly every year. When Jiří Badalec
became the director, the former menagerie was rebuilt into a
real Zoo and the area was modernised. It took another long 20
years before the Zoo managed to reach its prime through huge
reconstructions and building new projects.
Source: the official site of
Zoo Liberec
(2011)
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