Frankfurt Zoological Garden opened in 1858, making it the second-oldest zoo in Germany after Berlin. It sits in the Ostend district close to the city centre, packing more than 4,500 animals of over 510 species into about 11 hectares.
Its age alone earns it a spot among the oldest zoos in the world, but Frankfurt’s real fame comes from what happened after the Second World War, when one man turned a bombed-out city zoo into a global voice for conservation.
Key Stats
| Opened | 1858 |
| Location | Ostend district, Frankfurt, Germany |
| Animals | More than 4,500 animals of over 510 species |
| Area | About 11 hectares (27 acres) |
| Annual visitors | 830,193 (2015) |
Grzimek’s Zoo
Bernhard Grzimek became director in 1945, with the zoo in ruins after the war, and led it until 1974. He rebuilt Frankfurt into one of Europe’s most respected zoos while becoming Germany’s most famous naturalist: his documentary Serengeti Shall Not Die, filmed with his son Michael, won an Academy Award and helped rally worldwide support for protecting the Serengeti. The street outside the zoo is now called Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee.
His name also lives on inside the gates: the Grzimek-Haus, opened in 1978, is a renowned nocturnal house where day and night are reversed so visitors can watch bats, aardvarks and other nighttime specialists in action.
The Exotarium and Today’s Collection
Another Frankfurt signature is the Exotarium, a combined aquarium and terrarium house whose desert, reef and rainforest displays range from crocodiles to Lake Malawi cichlids. Elsewhere the zoo keeps Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, gorillas and spectacled bears — a big-species list that belies its compact city footprint.
Owned by the city of Frankfurt, the zoo drew about 830,000 visitors in 2015 and remains one of the city’s best-loved institutions, a short U-Bahn ride from the banking towers downtown.
Explore more: Explore more zoos and aquariums.
Frankfurt Zoo FAQs
When did Frankfurt Zoo open?
Frankfurt Zoological Garden opened in 1858, making it the second-oldest zoo in Germany after Berlin Zoological Garden.
Who was Bernhard Grzimek?
Grzimek directed Frankfurt Zoo from 1945 to 1974, rebuilding it after the war. His Oscar-winning documentary Serengeti Shall Not Die made him one of the world’s best-known conservationists.
How many animals live at Frankfurt Zoo?
More than 4,500 animals of over 510 species live on the zoo’s 11-hectare site in Frankfurt’s Ostend district.
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Photo: –Gleiten 17:32, 25. Sep. 2012 (CEST) / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.