Kraków Zoo

The Krakowski Ogród Zoologiczny (Cracow Zoological Garden) was opened to visitors on 6th July 1929.
The ZOO is located on a Jurassic plateau at 345 metres above sea level, in the middle of a woodland park known as the Las Wolski or Park Miejski, which covers an area of nearly 500 hectares 10 kilometres to the west of the city center. The highest point in the Las Wolski, the Piłsudski Independence Mound, affords a magnificent panoramic view of the city and the picturesque surroundings of Jurassic hills.
When it was first opened, Cracow ZOO, which was then referred to by its historical Polish name "Zwierzyniec" (Menagerie), had an area of 4 hectares and 111 animals belonging to 37 species. By 2008 its surface area has grown to 20 hectares, and there are now nearly 1500 animals in the ZOO, representing about 260 species.