Wilhelma

Why go

The appeal goes beyond the animal houses. Moorish buildings, iron greenhouse fronts and formal planting give the zoo a setting unlike a purpose-built wildlife park. Follow the garden features as well as the animals to see how a royal retreat became a zoological and botanical garden.

What to look for

• Wilhelma has a Moorish country-house façade and historic iron greenhouse fronts.
• A formal garden surrounds the central water-lily pool.
• A magnolia grove stands within the former royal retreat.

The full story

Wilhelma began with water rather than animals. A mineral spring discovered in 1829 prompted plans for a royal bathhouse. Under architect Karl Ludwig von Zanth, that idea developed into a Moorish-style residence, completed in 1846. The ornamental buildings and planted spaces belong to that earlier purpose. The change to a zoo came gradually after the Second World War. That history explains why the setting deserves attention alongside the animals: the architecture was conceived for a royal retreat, rather than simply as a backdrop to enclosures. Look at the relationship between the country house, greenhouse fronts and formal garden. They carry the older design through the modern zoo. The water-lily pool also links water and planting at the heart of the grounds, a useful reminder of how the whole project began.

Useful to know

• Use the park calendar for your date; animal and plant houses have their own closing times.
• Plan the royal garden and animal collections together rather than treating them as separate destinations.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.