Hanover Zoo — officially the Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover, or ‘Adventure Zoo’ — was established on May 4, 1865, making it the fifth-oldest zoo in Germany and one of the oldest zoos in the world still operating. After one of the rockiest histories of any major zoo, it reinvented itself in the 1990s as a fully themed park and now welcomes more than 1.6 million visitors a year.
The zoo was founded with private money through a stock company — whose shareholders, having no experience keeping wild animals, quickly ran into difficulties and losses. The city of Hanover took over in 1920, closed the unviable zoo in 1922, and saw it reopened in 1924 under the animal-trading company Ruhe, which eventually ran it as a showcase for its own trade: many animals were exhibited for only a few weeks before being sold. Badly damaged in World War II, the zoo was provisionally restored in 1946 and fully reopened in 1950; the city took it over again in 1972.
Key Stats
| Opened | May 4, 1865 |
| Location | Mitte district, Hanover, Germany |
| Animals / species | About 3,414 animals in 237 species (2010) |
| Area | 22 hectares (about 54 acres) |
| Annual visitors | More than 1.6 million |
The €112 Million Reinvention
By the early 1990s visitor numbers were falling steadily. In 1994 the zoo was converted into a limited company and sold to the Hanover Region, and work on an entirely new concept began the following year. Some €111.9 million has since been invested in transforming the site into themed worlds: the Zambezi river landscape with its boat ride through the African savanna, the Indian Jungle Palace, the Australian Outback, the children’s world Mullewapp and, in 2010, Yukon Bay — a Canadian harbour town where polar bears, seals and penguins are viewed through the hull of a wrecked ship.
Elephants and Records
Hanover has long been renowned for elephant breeding — in the postwar era 10 Asian and 3 African elephants were born here, and more recently the zoo set a world record when five Asian elephant calves were born in a single calendar year. The turnaround has been recognised too: since 2000 more than a million people have visited annually, and the zoo was awarded Germany’s ‘Best Zoo’ title for 2009/10.
FAQ
Why is Hanover Zoo called the Erlebnis-Zoo?
Erlebnis means ‘experience’ or ‘adventure’. After its 1990s reinvention the zoo rebuilt itself around immersive themed worlds — Zambezi, Jungle Palace, Yukon Bay, the Australian Outback and more — rather than traditional rows of enclosures.
How old is Hanover Zoo?
It was established on May 4, 1865, making it Germany’s fifth-oldest zoo and number 17 on our ranking of the world’s oldest operating zoos.
What is Yukon Bay?
Yukon Bay is the Canadian-themed world opened in May 2010, styled as an Arctic harbour town where visitors watch polar bears, seals and penguins swim past underwater viewing windows set in a shipwreck.
Photo: Dguendel via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)