Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park

Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park
*(Wild- und Wanderpark Südliche Weinstraße)*
Date opened	18 April 1975
Coordinates	49°8′24″N 7°55′56″E / 49.14000°N 7.93222°E / 49.14000; 7.93222
Land area	100 hectares
Number of animals	about 400
Number of species	about 15
Annual visitors	100,000
Owner	Marianne Geppert and Michael Müller^[1]
Website	http://www.wildpark-silz.de/

The Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park (German: Wild- und Wanderpark Südliche Weinstraße) is located in the Wasgau, a region on the Franco-German border that forms the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the northern part of the Vosges, near the village of Silz in the south of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The park is not named after the German Wine Route which passes about 6 kilometres away, but after the county of Südliche Weinstraße (literally "Southern Wine Road"). The tourist attraction receives about 100,000 visitors annually.

Location

The park, which is part of the Franco-German Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve, is located in the Klingbach valley and is surrounded by hills. It lies between 200 and 350 metres above sea level and has an area of about 100 hectares. The French border is 12 kilometres away to the south.

History

The park was based on a planning study by the president of the wildlife enclosure section of the International Hunting Association, Heinrich Prinz Reuß. The planning laid particular value on family-oriented amenities and only used land that would otherwise have been abandoned. The then Mayor of Silz, Franz Andelfinger, became involved as the Oberamtsrat at the Südliche Weinstraße county council aiming to unite professional expertise and municipal requirements and to locate the wildlife and walking park in the parish of Silz.

The park was officially handed on 18 April 1975 by the then Minister for Transport and the Economy for Rhineland-Palatinate, Heinrich Holkenbrink.

Features

Species

15 different species of larger animal live here, totally about 400 individuals. Some of them can be seen in the open. Mammals include European bison, red and fallow deer, mouflon, wild boar, wolf, red fox, Arctic fox and ferrets. In the aviaries are Snowy owls and Eagle owls; in addition, there are two duck ponds.^[1]

Red deer
Snowy owl
Red fox
European bison

Facilities

As well as a restaurant, kiosk und barbecue hut there is an observation tower, a petting zoo, a children's play park and an adventure play area. The "short circular path" (kleine Rundweg) takes about an hour, the "long" walk about two hours. There are no significant steep sections. Branching paths are sometimes steeper and not suitable for wheelchairs, prams or pushchairs.^[1]

References

1 2 3 Betreiber-Website. "Wild- und Wanderpark Südliche Weinstraße". Retrieved 2010-10-05.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silz Wildlife Park.

Zoos of Germany

Zoos	Augsburg Zoo Bad Mergentheim Wildlife Park Berlin Tierpark Berlin Zoological Garden Betzenberg Wildlife Park Bremerhaven Zoo Cologne Zoo Cottbus Zoo Dortmund Zoo Dresden Zoo Duisburg Zoo Eekholt Wildlife Park Erlebnispark Tripsdrill Essehof Zoo Frankfurt Zoo Hamburg Hagenbeck Zoo Hanover Zoo Heidelberg Zoo Hellabrunn Zoo Hirschfeld Wildlife Park Hodenhagen Serengeti Park Karlsruhe Zoo Krefeld Zoo Landau Zoo Leipzig Zoo Lüneburg Heath Wildlife Park Magdeburg Zoo Münster Zoo Nuremberg Zoo Olching Bird Park Opel Zoo Osnabrück Zoo Rostock Zoo Saarbrücken Zoo Sassnitz Wildlife Park Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park Stuttgart Wilhelma Zoo Walsrode Bird Park Wuppertal Zoo ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen

Aquariums	AquaDom Aquarium Berlin German Oceanographic Museum Ozeaneum Sea Life Centres Germany

Historical	Königsberger Tiergarten (now in Kaliningrad, Russia)

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