Silesian Zoological Garden (Chorzów Zoo)

In the 1950s one of Poland's largest zoos grew up on former mining wasteland between Chorzów and Katowice. The Silesian Zoological Garden covers about 47.5 ha of the Silesian Park, and for half a century its trademark has been a rocky hollow full of life-size dinosaurs. It is a full-day outing, especially with children.

History: one zoo instead of two

Silesia's first zoo opened in 1898 in Bytom, founded by the industrialist Ignatz Hakuba, and after the war there was also a small zoo in Katowice. When the regional governor Jerzy Ziętek started building a large leisure park (today's Silesian Park), the decision came in 1953 to build a modern zoo and close the two older ones. Work on paths and the first enclosures began a year later, and animals from Bytom and Katowice were moved over gradually.

The zoo opened in 1958 and was an instant hit: more than half a million people came in the first year, and in 1961 attendance passed one million. From 1962 the Polish Ocean Lines shipping company acted as the zoo's patron, bringing crocodiles, chimpanzees, penguins and ostriches on its ships. A house for elephants and hippos opened in 1965, followed in later decades by enclosures for tigers, pumas and snow leopards and an aquarium building.

What to see

Highlights of a walk round the zoo:

• the Dinosaur Valley from 1975 – 16 life-size models of 7 species,
• the Exotarium from 1960, now home to monkeys and reptiles,
• the aquarium, primate house, elephant house and rainforest house,
• newer buildings: the gibbon house, the Humboldt penguin enclosure, the giraffe house, and houses for rhinos and cheetahs,
• the Mini Zoo, where children can meet rabbits, goats and sheep up close.

Did you know?

The dinosaurs are not random statues. They were reconstructed from fossils found in the Gobi Desert in 1963–1971 by Polish palaeontologists led by Prof. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska. When the display opened they were the first reconstructions of these newly described species, and the original bones are now kept by the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. The zoo is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and takes part in its conservation campaigns.

Tripto tip

The zoo has no visitor car park of its own. The nearest parking is in the Gold Zone of the Silesian Park and on ul. Złota in Katowice. The tram is easier: lines 6, 11, 15 and 23 stop at "Park Śląski, Śląski Ogród Zoologiczny", and buses from Ruda Śląska or Zabrze stop at "Osiedle Tysiąclecia ZOO". Ticket desks close one hour before the zoo closes, and opening hours change through the year, so check the zoo's website before you go.

Allow 3–4 hours for the zoo itself, as the grounds are large and hilly. It combines easily with other sights in the Silesian Park, such as the Silesian Planetarium and the Silesian Stadium, for a full day out.