Wilhelma

For the Templer settlement, see Wilhelma, Palestine

Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden Stuttgart
(German: Wilhelma Zoologisch-Botanischer Garten Stuttgart)

Wilhelma Zoo circa 1900
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart Location in Germany
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Zoo
Architectural style	Moorish Revival
Classification	Zoo
Location	Bad Cannstatt District, Baden-Württemberg
Town or city	Stuttgart
Country	Germany
Coordinates	48°48′19″N 9°12′11″E / 48.80528°N 9.20306°E / 48.80528; 9.20306Coordinates: 48°48′19″N 9°12′11″E / 48.80528°N 9.20306°E / 48.80528; 9.20306
Opening	1919 (as a botanical garden),^[1] 1951 (first animal exhibit)^[2]
Client	Department of Real Estate and Building^[3]
Owner	Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Finance^[3]
Landlord	Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Finance^[3]
Affiliation	Department of Real Estate and Building^[3]
Grounds	30 hectares (74 acres)^[1]
Design and construction
Architect	Ludwig von Zanth
Known for	Wilbär the polar bear, accidentally breeding of a virulent strain of Caulerpa taxifolia^[4]
Website
www.wilhelma.de/nc/en/home.html

Wilhelma is a zoo and botanical garden built in the Moorish Revival style echoing the Alhambra on the site of a former royal residence that receives about 2.3 million visitors annually. This 30-hectare (74-acre) Historicist zoo is located in the northern suburbs of Stuttgart, Germany and is home to 6,000 species of plants and 11,500 animals from all over the world making it the second largest botanical garden in Germany (Second only to the Berlin Zoological Garden).^[3] Wilhelma is also visited by persons interested in intact 19th Century architecture. Today, the zoo is one of the most popular places to visit in Baden-Württemberg.

Wilhelma is a sanctuary for gorillas rejected by their mothers and are hand-raised and reared here.

History

Historic Sites

View of historic Wilhelma circa 1855. Visible though partly cut off is Long Lake up front and half of Mondsee; behind: Moorish banqueting hall with adjoining Moorish garden; the Moorish villa and Belvedere are visible in the background.

Wilhelma Plan, 1855

In 1829, the property the zoo now stands on was near the mineral springs on the Castle Rosenstein estate. Then Duke of Baden-Württemberg William I of Württemberg decided to build a royal bathhouse in the gardens. The Duke decided that the bathhouse should be built in the Moorish style in the same fashion as the Alhambra in the Spanish province of Granada, including an attached Orangery. Ludwig von Zanth was hired in 1837 to design and construct the Duke's bathhouse. Unfortunately, there was wide upheaval and construction grinded to a halt in 1816 for a suspended amount of time during the Year Without a Summer (and subsequent famine in 1817). As a result of funding problems, the intended bathhouse became a summer residence instead.

1842 saw the completion of the first few buildings of the Duke's bathhouse and the site received the name Wilhelma. The imaginative von Zanth knew how to fire up the Duke's mind and thus was able to complete the Duke's summer villa, which consisted of a residential building, a domed hall and two neighboring greenhouses, each with a corner pavilion. In 1846, the marriage between Charles I of Württemberg and Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was celebrated at Wilhelma, which by now had a banquet hall, two main building with several courtrooms, several gazebos , greenhouses and a large park. The cottage would be finished 20 years later.

Earlier Zoos in Stuttgart

Duke Frederick I founded a menagerie in 1812 on the grounds of the Ducal summer palace (Rosenstein) that maintained 220 animals including elephants, monkeys, and parrots. Special features were panels with explanations of the animals in the enclosures and the opening to the public.

After being closed to the public during World War II, Wilhelma was opened again in 1949 with an azalea show, followed by the "Great Aquarium Show." In 1951, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and penguins arrived as part of a special exhibition, but they were kept after the exhibition ended, which marks the beginning of the zoo. Elephants and tigers were added in 1952.^[2]

Exhibits

The zoo is famous for keeping great apes (bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas), all in families with offspring,^[5] as well as for its aquarium featuring animals and plants from all over the world.

As is common in many German zoos, barriers between spectators and animals are minimal. The bird enclosures let visitor enter and wander among the birds in a landscaped environment.

There is an extensive insectarium on the grounds. There are many types of insects grown and kept live for the public to see, including African colored scarab beetles, among many others. There are butterflies, spiders, millipedes, and several beetle species that are continually cultivated and kept living, by breeding generation after generation of the individual species of choice.

Breeding and conservation

A particularly unusual feature is the "hatchery" where chicks can be watched hatching and mother birds feed their chicks at very close quarters.

The zoo has become a center for raising motherless apes from all over Europe.^[1]

Transport

The zoo sits next to a main arterial route from the city centre and is easily accessed by car. The road can be very busy on holidays and weekends.

A tram line (U14) connects the zoo to the city centre.

The new ape house

The new ape house opened on May 15, 2013.^[1]

Trivia

The aquarium staff was responsible for inadvertently breeding a strain of Caulerpa taxifolia, a highly invasive plant known as "Killer Algae" which has had "severe negative consequences for biodiversity".^[4]
Wilhelma Zoo is Europe's only large combined zoological and botanical garden.
The upper section of the zoo includes an impressive stand of sequoia trees.
The botanical gardens contain Europe's biggest magnolia grove.
Wilhelma adjoins a public park to its west laid out in the 'English landscape style' of rolling grass and informal groups of trees; this perfectly complements the landscape of the zoo.
Wilhelma has a branch department in Fellbach where it keeps Stallions.^[6]

Gallery

Grey herons in a tree at the entrance
The green- and nocturnal house
Nymphaea Pond in spring
Asian elephant
Colorado River toad
Giant millipede
California sea lion
Echinocactus grusonii
Maned wolf
The large greenhouse at Wilhelma

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilhelma Zoo.

Official website

References

Bibliography

Notes

1 2 3 4 "Zoologisch-Botanischer Garten Wilhelma". zoo-infos.de. Zoo-Infos. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
1 2 "20th Century". wilhelma.de. Wilhelma. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 "Technical date and facts". Wilhelma Zoo.
1 2 Pierre Madl and Maricella Yip (2005). "Literature Review of Caulerpa taxifolia". sbg.ac.at. University of Salzburg. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
↑ "Apes and Sea Lions". wilhelma.de. Wilhelma. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
↑ Buchmeier, Frank. "Ein Kloster für Tiere". Stuttgarter-Zeitung.

Zoos of Germany

Zoos	Augsburg Zoo Bad Mergentheim Wildlife Park Berlin Tierpark Berlin Zoological Garden Betzenberg Wildlife Park Bremerhaven Zoo Cologne Zoo Cottbus Zoo Dortmund Zoo Dresden Zoo Duisburg Zoo Eekholt Wildlife Park Erlebnispark Tripsdrill Essehof Zoo Frankfurt Zoo Hamburg Hagenbeck Zoo Hanover Zoo Heidelberg Zoo Hellabrunn Zoo Hirschfeld Wildlife Park Hodenhagen Serengeti Park Karlsruhe Zoo Krefeld Zoo Landau Zoo Leipzig Zoo Lüneburg Heath Wildlife Park Magdeburg Zoo Münster Zoo Nuremberg Zoo Olching Bird Park Opel Zoo Osnabrück Zoo Rostock Zoo Saarbrücken Zoo Sassnitz Wildlife Park Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park Stuttgart Wilhelma Zoo Walsrode Bird Park Wuppertal Zoo ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen

Aquariums	AquaDom Aquarium Berlin German Maritime Museum Ozeaneum Sea Life Centres Germany

Authority control	VIAF: 240754287

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