Wrocławski Park in Lubin

A Tyrannosaurus among century-old oaks, white-tailed eagles and capercaillies in aviaries, and next to them a wild riverside forest that nobody touches with an axe. Wrocławski Park is the oldest and most valuable park in Lubin in Lower Silesia – 14 hectares of old trees in the south-east of the city. Since 2014 it has been home to Lubin Zoo, which is free to enter all year round.

History: from palace woodland to zoo

The park dates back to the early 19th century, when patches of oak-hornbeam and riverside woodland around a manor were adapted for it. After 1945 it was opened to the public; an amphitheatre was built where the palace probably stood (it has since been demolished), and Lubin's first fitness trail was laid out here. In 2013–2014 the park underwent a major revitalisation. On 14 May 2014 Poland's General Director for Environmental Protection approved the creation of a zoo, and it officially opened on 1 June 2014. The Nature Education Centre that runs it changed its name to Lubin Zoo in 2023. It was the third zoo in Lower Silesia.

What to see

• The Bird Trail – thirteen aviaries with around 60 species of Polish and foreign birds, including white-tailed eagles, steppe eagles, red-crowned cranes, capercaillies, eagle owls and black storks. Lubin has the largest pheasant collection of any zoo in Poland.
• The "Fauna of Poland" trail – 30 species of wild animals and native farm breeds, from European bison to the Wrzosówka heath sheep.
• The Farm Animal Trail – white-backed cattle, Carpathian goats and green-legged partridge hens, as well as donkeys, Shetland ponies and alpacas.
• The Extinct Animals Trail – a dozen or so life-size figures of prehistoric reptiles, including Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Diplodocus, plus an Ice Age zone with a woolly mammoth and a sabre-toothed cat.
• The children's zone – playgrounds and a palaeontology dig where kids can uncover model dinosaur skeletons.

Nature

The park has three zones: old woodland with oak-hornbeam forest (maple, sycamore, hornbeam, pedunculate oak, large-leaved lime), riverside woodland with alder, poplar, willow, elm and ash, and landscaped gardens with a pond where ducks and swans swim. The central riverside section has been left in its natural state. The zoo grounds include 15 trees protected as natural monuments, each with an information board, and around 70 species of wild birds have been recorded in the park.

Tripto tip

Allow 2–3 hours to walk all the trails, or half a day with children – the dinosaurs and playgrounds can keep them busy for a long time. The park lies on ul. Wrocławska in the south-east of the city. Check the zoo's current opening hours on zoolubin.pl before you go. In winter, look out for the zoo's educational campaign on how to feed wild birds sensibly.