Tierpark Hagenbeck

Description

In Hamburg-Stellingen, Tierpark Hagenbeck welcomes visitors as a privately run zoo of historical significance; the adjacent Tropen-Aquarium opened in 2007 and also belongs to the family complex.

The park covers approximately 19 hectares and is defined by an extensive network of paths and numerous, partly exotic plantings. An Art Nouveau gate from the 1907 opening is preserved as a monument, although it has lost its original function as an entrance.

Its roots go back to the commercial animal menagerie Carl Hagenbeck established in Hamburg in the mid-19th century, which was moved to the present site in 1907. As a novelty, a zoo concept without cages was implemented here for the first time; this design influenced modern animal keeping in many institutions worldwide. The park was expanded over the course of the 20th century, suffered heavy destruction in the Second World War and was subsequently redesigned by the family through extensive rebuilding. Since 1997 the site has been listed as a historic monument.

In recent decades modern facilities have been added: a large elephant free-roam hall opened in 2006, the Tropen-Aquarium presents tropical habitats across several themed areas, and the Eismeer exhibit, newly constructed in 2012, provides naturalistic enclosures for polar bears, walruses, seals and penguins through comprehensive cooling and water technology. The Eismeer houses walrus breeding programs unique in Germany; in 2022 it also recorded the first polar bear offspring since the reopening.

The zoo remains privately owned and is financed without regular state subsidies. It bears a troubled history: around 1900 so-called "human zoos" were held here, whose exploitative character and human-rights implications are today criticized by civil society groups and descendants. Calls for historical reckoning and access to the archives have so far not led to a deeper public engagement on site.