History of the Wildlife Park
«Place of abiding pleasure»
Carl Anton Ludwig von Orelli created the wildlife garden in Langenberg in 1869 as a «place of abiding pleasure». How did it come about?
A modern idea dating from 1869
The city of Zurich acquired Langenberg, which supplied the city with firewood, in stages in 1506, 1553 and 1557.
In the middle of the 19th century, the city’s head forester, C. A. L. von Orelli, realised his «long-cherished idea» of building a wildlife garden in Langenberg, despite political resistance to his idea. As the forests were overhunted, he wanted to create a recreational area where the city’s inhabitants could encounter native animals.
Foundation charter 4 September 1869:
C. A. L. von Orelli puts down CHF 20,000 for the maintenance of a wildlife garden in Langenberg.
September to November 1869
Zurich City Council, the Directorate of the Interior and the Extended City Council approve the project and grant permission for the future use of the Langenberg as a wildlife garden. Langnau am Albis and Adliswil give their assent.
On 11 December 1869 Deed of foundation drawn up by C.A.L. von Orelli.
The first animal species introduced to Langenberg was the red deer. Langenberg later underwent ongoing expansion and new native animal species were added. Recent research shows that they were always kept as naturally as possible.
From a wildlife garden to a modern zoo
| 1869 |
First walk-through enclosure with red deer, fallow deer, roe deer and chamois |
| 1873 |
Orelli House built |
| 1875 |
Carl Anton Ludwig von Orelli retires Successor: Hans Ulrich Meister |
| 1890 |
Carl Anton Ludwig von Orelli dies |
| 1914 |
Bear pit opened |
| 1921 |
Wild boar enclosure opened |
| 1924 |
Marmot enclosure opened |
| from 1929 |
Exotic animal species such as llamas, zebras and antelopes removed |
| 1944 |
New restaurant built by architect Heinrich Steiner |
| 1946 |
Ibex enclosure opened |
| 1955 |
New wild boar enclosure built |
| 1959 |
New bear rock built |
| 1969 |
Elk and bison enclosure opened to mark 100th anniversary |
| 1975 |
Lynx enclosure opened |
| 1983 |
Wildcat enclosure opened Transfer of the Langenberg Wildlife Park Foundation to the city of Zurich Wildlife Park Fund |
| 1984 |
Sika deer enclosure opened New marmot enclosure built |
| 1987 |
Przewalski’s horse enclosure opened |
| 1993 |
European hare enclosure opened |
| 1994 |
Reindeer enclosure opened to mark 125th anniversary Foundation of the Society for the Promotion of Langenberg (Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Langenberg – GFL) |
| 1995 |
New forest enclosure for wild boar built Wolf enclosure opened |
| 1998 |
New forest enclosure for brown bears built |
| 1999 |
New European hare enclosure built |
| 2001 |
New lynx enclosure built New wildcat enclosure built Wildlife Park shop built |
| 2002 |
Reindeer-keeping ended |
| 2005 |
Beaver and otter enclosure opened on the River Sihl in Sihlwald |
| 2007 |
Fox enclosure opened |
| 2009 |
The Wildnispark Zurich Foundation founded Langenberg West and pedestrian bridge opened |
| 2010 |
New European hare enclosure built |
| 2014 |
Mouse House with edible dormice, house mice and brown rats opened |
| 2016 |
Beaver-keeping ended |
| 2019 |
New animal information boards erected to mark 150th anniversary |
