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History - Tierpark Berlin |
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 Largest
landscape zoo in Europe and lifetime achievement of Prof. Dr Heinrich
Dathe
With an area of 160 hectares, it could hold about 224 football fields
and is almost the size of the German island Heligoland: The Tierpark
Berlin
On 27 August 1954, the
Berlin Magistrate decided to establish a zoo (‘Tierpark’) in
Friedrichsfelde. One year later, on 2 July 1955, the counterpart to West
Berlin’s Zoological Garden opened on the site of the former
Friedrichsfelde Palace gardens: the Tierpark Berlin. The zoologist Prof.
Dr Heinrich Dathe became its very first director – a position he
retained until his 80th birthday for over 30 years
All good things come in twos
Two radio towers, two major
shopping centres – and two zoos. The partition and size of Berlin meant
that there is no shortage of superlatives in this city. The Tierpark
Berlin has its roots in the partition of Germany after the Second World
War. The famous Zoological Garden was now situated in the British sector
of Berlin. The GDR’s state leadership wanted to establish a rival zoo of
equal standing.
The decision by the Berlin
Magistrate on 27 August 1954 is regarded as the official founding date
for the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde. For its location, they selected the
generously sized landscape garden designed by Peter Joseph Lenné in the
1820s, which was a fortuitous choice as the palace and its gardens had
begun to deteriorate since their dispossession.
 400
animals on opening day and the GDR's crown jewel
Voluntary work by private
individuals and companies already bore witness to the special
significance the Tierpark held for the people. In addition, a number of
animal donations ensured that around 400 animals from 120 different
species were already on display on opening day, including Siberian
tigers and Asian elephants.
Dathe developed the Tierpark
step by step according to his own designs, presented new enclosures as
well as commercial buildings every year, and capably fashioned the vast
palace gardens to accommodate people and animals.
Moats as natural barriers, vast
enclosures, natural forests, and wide walking paths still dominate the
scenery. Historical plans were used as the basis for the restoration of
the Baroque palace gardens.
Dathe expanded the Tierpark
from an already ample 60 hectares to 160 hectares. The bear rock
enclosure and the large camel pasture were some of his first projects.
In 1957, the snake farm and the polar bear enclosure with a 3,000
m²-sized swimming and diving pool were added. The bear canyon and the
bear entrance were established at around the same time. The construction
of the largest animal house in the world in 1963, the predator or Alfred
Behm House, was a worldwide sensation. The open tropical hall with
flying foxes and the indoor rock enclosures with moats were absolutely
unique at the time. The popular cafeteria was opened to provide hungry
and thirsty visitors with refreshments.
The historical Friedrichsfelde
Palace was reopened at the beginning of the 80s as a result of huge
commitment and extensive renovation work. In 1989, Dathe celebrated the
opening of the elephant house including an open enclosure.
All in all, an achievement of a lifetime and the zoological crown jewel
of the GDR. After Dathe’s retirement in 1991, Dr Bernd Blaszkiewitz took
charge of the Tierpark until the autumn of 2013. Many provisional
solutions that had started to deteriorate in GDR times due to a lack of
building materials were replaced by solid functional buildings under
Blaskiewitz. Furthermore, the mountain animal enclosures, the giraffe
and monkey houses, and the Africanum were established. For the first
time in the history of the Tierpark, both African and Asian elephants
were bred.
After Reunification, it was
quickly agreed to establish a close cooperation between the parks with
their different characteristics and strengths. This has lasted until
today and will be even further intensified in the future.
Modernisation 2.0 - Future-oriented concepts for the Zoo and the
Tierpark
In 2014, Dr Andreas Knieriem
took on the job to sustainably develop the Tierpark as Europe’s largest
zoo animal operation. On 19 September 2013, the board of directors of
the Zoologischer Garten Berlin AG announced Knieriem’s appointment to
succeed the parting director Dr Bernard Blaszkiewitz.
Knieriem was one of the leading
heads instrumental in the restructuring and conception of the Hanover
Adventure Zoo as well as Hellabrunn Zoo, where he was the director and
sole chairman until his move to Berlin. He advocates for an interaction
between humans and animals that reflects modern sensibilities. A goal
and development plan was formulated for the Zoo and Tierpark Berlin by
Knieriem in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team – a future
concept for the next 20 years.
The Tierpark Berlin is and will
remain one of the largest public gardens in Berlin, making it an
important recreational area, especially for the people living in the
eastern parts of the city. Almost 7,800 animals from over 900 species
are there to be discovered along the circular walking path of over 20
kilometres.
Therefore, it offers numerous
unique development opportunities to attract additional guests from
around the world. To discover and expand on these strengths is a task
that the team led by Knieriem will approach in the coming years and
decades with great enthusiasm, a host of experience, and a pronounced
sense of creativity.
Or in short: the formerly
divided city offers us two very different and mutually complementary
zoological gardens that both have an exciting future ahead of them. The
‘green oasis’ in the West and the ‘wild potential’ in the East – expect
more to come!
Source: official site of
Tierpark Berlin (2016)
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