The oldest zoo in the world

Behind this fence lies the oldest zoo still running anywhere in the world, laid out in 1752 by Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the husband of Empress Maria Theresa.

 

The original layout has survived, and it gives away how the whole thing started. In the middle stands an octagonal pavilion where the imperial couple took their breakfast, with the enclosures ringed around it, so from your chair you could see all the animals at once. In those days a zoo was first a collection and only then a day out.

 

The public was let in from 1779, and every new animal became an event. When the first giraffe arrived in 1828, Vienna went wild for it, with giraffe patterns on fabrics, giraffe hairstyles and pastries named after the creature.

 

The grounds have survived two world wars since then, the second only barely, and today the place ranks among the finest in Europe, with pandas that bred here and raised their young without any intervention.

 

The path east leads between the hedges toward the maze.