Wilhelma

For the place in Palestine, see Wilhelma, Palestine.
Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden Stuttgart
(German: Wilhelma Zoologisch-Botanischer Garten Stuttgart)
Logo of Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden
Logo of Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden
Wilhelma Zoo circa 1900
Wilhelma Zoo circa 1900
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart is located in Baden-Württemberg
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart
Location in Germany
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart is located in Germany
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart (Germany)
Alternative namesSchloss Wilhelma
General information
TypeZoo
Architectural styleMoorish Revival
ClassificationZoo
LocationBad Cannstatt District, Baden-Württemberg
AddressWilhelma 13, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany
Town or cityStuttgart
CountryGermany
Coordinates48°48′18″N 9°12′18″E / 48.80500°N 9.20500°E / 48.80500; 9.20500
Opened1919 (as a botanical garden),[1] 1951 (first animal exhibit)[2]
ClientWilhelma Zoo[3]
OwnerBaden-Württemberg, Ministry of Finance[3]
LandlordBaden-Württemberg, Ministry of Finance[3]
AffiliationDepartment of Real Estate and Buildings[3]
Grounds30 ha (74 acres)[1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Ludwig von Zanth
Known forWilbär the polar bear, accidentally breeding of a virulent strain of Caulerpa taxifolia[4]
Website
www.wilhelma.de/en/

Wilhelma (German: [vɪlˈhɛlma] ⓘ) is a zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart, southern Germany, located in the Bad Cannstatt district in the north of the city on the grounds of a historic castle. Wilhelma Zoo is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Baden-Württemberg, seeing more than 2 million visitors annually.[5]

The Zoo and Botanical Garden have been staffed since 1846.[6] The Moorish Revival style echoing the Alhambra have been maintained and supplemented since 1960. Today, the zoo has an area of about 30 hectares (0.30 km2), houses around 11,500 animals from around the world composed of roughly 1,200 species and roughly 6000 plants from all climates.[7] Of Germany's zoos, Wilhelma's collection ranks second to the Berlin Zoological Garden.[3] In addition to the public garden, Wilhelma also has a branch office located in Fellbach, where the zoo keeps its stallions.[8]

Wilhelma receives gorilla juveniles rejected by their mother and reared by the zookeepers. At age 2–3, the gorillas are sent back to their original zoo(s).[9]

  1. ^ a b "Zoologisch-Botanischer Garten Wilhelma". Zoo-Infos. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  2. ^ "20th Century". wilhelma.de. Wilhelma. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Technical Data and Facts". Wilhelma Zoo. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  4. ^ Pierre Madl and Maricella Yip (2005). "Literature Review of Caulerpa taxifolia". University of Salzburg. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Most Popular Attractions in Baden-Wurttemberg". SWR Fernsehen. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  6. ^ "19th Century - Wilhelma". Wilhelma Zoo. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Willkommen - Verband der Zoologischen Gärten (VdZ) e.V". www.zoodirektoren.de. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Wilhelma-Außenstelle: Ein Kloster für Tiere". Stuttgarter Zeitung. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  9. ^ "The gorilla kindergarten". Wilhelma Zoo. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-18.