Kolmården Wildlife Park, known in Swedish as Kolmårdens Djurpark, opened on May 27, 1965, on a dramatic stretch of coastline overlooking Bråviken bay near Norrköping, Sweden. Conceived in 1962 as a project to help revive the local Kolmården Municipality, the park began with 210 animals and has grown into the largest zoo in Scandinavia, now home to around 85 species across 370 acres of forested, rocky terrain.
What sets Kolmården apart is its blend of wildlife conservation and inventive engineering. Visitors can glide silently above lions, giraffes, and other safari animals aboard the world’s first cable car safari, a gondola system that crosses the entire safari section at heights of two to twenty meters. The park also operates Scandinavia’s first dolphinarium, opened in 1969, and hosts species found nowhere else in Sweden, including gorillas, bottle-nosed dolphins, and Grévy’s zebras.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Norrköping, Sweden
- Opened: May 27, 1965
- Size: 370 acres (1.5 km²)
- Species: About 85
- Annual Visitors: About 720,000 (2015)
- Famous for: World’s first cable car safari
A Safari Unlike Any Other
The centerpiece of Kolmården is its safari park, which in 2011 replaced a traditional drive-through experience with an aerial cable car system, the first of its kind in the world. Guests ride enclosed gondolas over open zones housing lions, tigers, and other free-roaming animals, offering a bird’s-eye perspective that few zoos anywhere can match.
Alongside the safari, Kolmården’s Marine World features Scandinavia’s original dolphinarium, established in 1969 and later expanded in 2008, with daily presentations showcasing the park’s bottle-nosed dolphins, the only ones kept in Sweden.
Thrills Among the Wildlife
Kolmården also draws thrill-seekers thanks to Wildfire, a wooden roller coaster built by Rocky Mountain Construction that opened in June 2016. Rising 142 meters above sea level along the cliffs of Bråviken bay, Wildfire reaches speeds up to 115 km/h, making it the fastest and tallest wooden coaster in Europe. It was the first RMC installation built outside North America.
A gentler family coaster, the Dolphin Express, opened in 2009 within Marine World, giving younger visitors their own taste of the park’s thrill-ride offerings alongside the animal exhibits.
Explore more: Explore more top zoos and aquariums.
Kolmården Wildlife Park FAQs
Where is Kolmården Wildlife Park located?
It sits on the coast of Bråviken bay, about 25 kilometers northeast of Norrköping, Sweden.
What makes Kolmården’s safari unique?
It uses the world’s first cable car safari, letting visitors glide over free-roaming animals in gondolas instead of driving through in a car.
Does Kolmården have roller coasters?
Yes, including Wildfire, a Rocky Mountain Construction wooden coaster that opened in 2016 and is considered one of the fastest wooden coasters in Europe, plus the family-friendly Dolphin Express.
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Photo: Zoostar / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.