Zoo Opole

On the green island of Bolko, embraced by the Oder just next to the centre of Opole, live more than 1,000 animals of 227 species across 30.31 hectares. The Opole Zoo is one of 11 Polish gardens belonging to the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and for years has ranked among the country's best-rated zoos.

A longer history than it seems

Its origins go back to 1912, when a private enclosure for deer, peacocks and pheasants was laid out on the island. After wartime damage the zoo reopened in July 1953. Already in the 1950s the garden was the first in Poland to breed Asiatic black bears and red-necked wallabies.

Gorillas and other rarities

Opole is one of only two Polish zoos keeping western lowland gorillas — they can be seen here and in Warsaw — and the only one with California sea lions. Most of the facilities date from the 21st century: the giraffe house from 2002, the sea lion pool from 2007, with enclosures designed ever more naturally.

Visiting

The zoo has an intimate scale — a full walk with children takes 2–3 hours, with plenty of picnic spots and playgrounds along the way. From the railway station it is a walk of about a quarter of an hour across Bolko island, which is itself a park. Keep the site's history in mind: the 1997 flood badly damaged the garden and a fire destroyed the amphibian house in December 2012 — both events forced modernisations that now serve the animals.