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History of Budapest Zoo |
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The Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden is one of the oldest in the world
with its almost 150 years of history. The first idea of the foundation
dates back to 1820-30s but the 1848-49 Revolution and War of
Independence and the era of Opression did not favour the idea of
founding a zoo in Hungary. Finally, the initiation of a group of
patriots took form in 1866 and the first Hungarian Zoo opened its gates
to the sound of the midday bell on August 9th. Among the founding
fathers were the geologist József Szabó, Ágoston Kubinyi, the Director
of the National Museum, József Gerenday, the Director of the Botanical
Garden of Budapest and most importantly János Xántus, a recognised
zoologist, ethnographer and the first director of the Budapest Zoo.
Besides Hungarian species
the zoo housed several rare species of monkeys, lemurs, parrots, camels,
kangaroos and other special animals. It had neither lions, nor tigers or
elephants at that time. The first giraffe arrived two years after the
opening in 1868. It was donated to the Zoo by Franz Joseph with Queen
Elizabeth's intervention.
Further developmental
milestones were the opening of the first Lion house in 1876 with lions
and tigers. An elephant, a hippopotamus and a rhinoceros joined later
on.
However, some financial
problems arose as the expenses of the company founded by the scientist
patriots to run the zoo regularly exceeded revenues. Therefore the
corporation was transformed into an animal and plant naturalizing
company in order to obtain more donations. After several personal
changes Károly Serák was mandated zoo director in 1873. He directed the
zoo for three decades and during that time the revenues were sufficient
to maintain the zoo. He invited several artists such as tightrope
dancers, fire eaters, sword swallowers and shooting phenomena which
attracted masses of people. Unfortunately the authorities began to
consider the zoo a source of revenue and increased the rental fee, so
the company went bankrupt after the Millennium in 1896.
The zoo did not cease to
operate, however: it was taken over by the capital city, Budapest in
1907. What's more, more than four million gold crowns were spent on a
complete reconstruction thanks to the city developing program of the
mayor of the time called István Bárczy. The reconstruction took place
between 1909-1912 when the zoo was closed. It was reopened on 20th May
1912 with a new director called Adolf Lendl, a zoologist, who was also
in charge of the professional management of the reconstruction. Most of
the historic buildings of the park were to open at that time as well.
The institution was one of the most beautiful and modern zoos in Europe.
However, the development
was interrupted by the First World War and the subsequent economic
crisis series. Although some major improvements were made in the 1930s
under the management of Herbert Nadler the zoo was almost entirely
destroyed in the Second World War: none of the animal houses remained
intact with only 15 surviving animals from 2000 specimen after the siege
of Budapest.
The zoo reopened on May
1st, 1945 with a mere few dozen animals and dilapidated buildings. The
war damage was restored step by step in the following years and there
was a major modernization and development in the 1950s and 1960s. Most
of it was carried out by Csaba Anghi Director General, a dedicated
horticulturist and zoo disseminator. Zoo professionals' work and the
events of the 1970s and 1980s were primarily determined by the strict
limitations to economic and social realities of the age. Thus the zoo
was very much in need of complete renewal during the change of the
political regime around 1989. This process began in 1994 when Miklós
Persányi was appointed Director General of the institution. In the years
to come the historic buildings - which contribute to the unique
atmosphere of the zoo known worldwide - were reconstructed under the
guidance of Vilma Bogsch between 2003 and 2007 and the old buildings can
now be seen in their antique splendour. In the meantime the animal
habitats have been modernized, enlarged and made to look more natural
and aesthetic. The reconstruction affected every nook and cranny of the
zoo. Professional success followed suit, the first rhinoceros ever to be
born with artificial insemination was born in Budapest Zoo in 2007.
The Budapest Zoo and
Botanical Garden will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2016. Our zoo
experts have been working hard on making this wonderland an even more
magnificent place. The zoo has recently been granted a new territory for
the first time in its history which is of special importance: as much as
one third of its area had gradually been taken away in the last couple
of decades. Now it is time for expansion. If all goes well, most of the
developments planned in the new area can be realized by its 150th
birthday.
Source: official site of
Budapest Zoo (2014)
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