Wilhelma is the most popular place for a leisure-time visit in Baden-Württemberg’s capital city. Every year more than 2 million visitors come to the park from Stuttgart itself, from Baden-Württemberg and from the rest of Germany, as well as from neighbouring European countries. A visit is always worthwhile.

The park is open every day of the year. The gates are always opened at 8.15 a.m. Depending on the month the park closes at different times. In the winter months, when the days are shorter, the park closes earlier. Due to the very many different animal and plant buildings, Wilhelma is a good place to visit even when the weather is bad. One can reach many of the animal and plant houses dry-shod, because they are connected by covered pathways, the so-called covered walkways.
With over 1.000 species of animals, Wilhelma is one of the zoos that has the most species, not just in Germany but worldwide. In addition there are some 5.000 species and varieties of plants in Wilhelma’s botanical gardens.

Each plant and animal at Wilhelma belongs to a specific house or enclosure. These special territories are organized according to systematic or geographical factors, such as the House for Animals of Prey and the South America Enclosure, or the House for Tree Ferns and the Tropics House. All of these territories are described in the following pages and, as representatives of the many species to be found in those territories, several selected species will be introduced in more detail.
Today’s Wilhelma Park belongs to the historical heritage of Baden-Württemberg. The park has undergone a transition from being the purely private retreat of a king to become the zoological and botanical gardens of Stuttgart, with just over 2.1 million yearly visitors.

Originally planned as private gardens, the park, with buildings in the Moorish style, was intended to serve the Swabian king, King Wilhelm I, as living quarters and also to be used for representative purposes. In those times, in the middle of the 19th century, Moorish architecture had come into fashion amongst the royal families of Europe.

The king therefore “ordered” a Moorish park from his architect, Karl Ludwig Zanth. It was to bear the name “Wilhelma”. The most outstanding example of Moorish architecture, even in those days, was the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. And so Wilhelma is also known as the Alhambra on the R. Neckar.

The Zoo in Stuttgart is definitely the place you want to visit. The botanical garden is very impressive. I’m pretty sure it’s the largest in Germany.

You will need 6-7 hours if you want to see all animals, so come early!