Mini Zoo in Leszno

The Leszno Mini Zoo is a small, free zoological garden in Millennium Park on 17 Stycznia Street, with a domestic animal enclosure and paddocks tucked among old trees. The history of Leszno's menageries goes back to 1903, and the zoo has occupied its current site since 1941. It makes a good short walk with children and is easy to combine with the playground and rope park.

History: more than a century of animals

The first menagerie opened on Poniatowskiego Street in 1903. Between the wars it was so hard to maintain that local people founded the Society of Friends of the Menagerie to save it. In 1934 the zoo moved to the area of today's School of Economics complex; at that time it kept brown bears, wolves, dingoes, fallow deer, wild boar and mouflons, among others. In 1941 the German occupiers, citing sanitary reasons, moved it to the site of today's Millennium Park.

Fighting and the severe winter of 1945 killed most of the animals, and the zoo closed. It was revived in 1977 on the initiative of the town authorities and took its present form after modernisation in 1995–2002. In 2011 two female bears, Kasia and Basia, kept in poor conditions, were moved to a sanctuary in Germany – the zoo lacked suitable facilities for them.

What to see

According to 2010 figures the zoo held 25 species – 12 species of birds and 13 of mammals. You can see red deer, roe deer and wild boar, along with swans, pheasants and ducks; the mini zoo also includes a domestic animal enclosure. The animals change over time, so don't promise children a particular species. The park also has an outdoor gym, a large playground with a "ship" and the Tarzan Rope Park.

Tripto tips

Admission to the park and mini zoo is free. The park is open 7:00–20:00 from April to September, 7:00–18:00 in March and October and 7:00–17:00 from November to February. The playground was being modernised in 2026, and the rope park keeps its own schedule. An hour is enough for a relaxed walk around the paddocks. The zoo is next to the Alfred Smoczyk speedway stadium, so on race days plan your parking in advance. Don't feed the animals yourself.