Fővárosi Állat- és Növénykert, Budapest

The place before you is Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, a living collection set unusually within the city centre. It is Hungary’s oldest zoo and among the world’s earliest, opening on 9 August 1866. The grounds now hold 1,072 animal species, while the entire area is protected as a nature reserve.

Look at the historic buildings around the enclosures: their decorative forms belong to the Art Nouveau tradition, and several were designed by Kornél Neuschloss and Károly Kós. The India House, created in 1912 from plans by Károly Kós and Dezső Zrumeczky, is among the buildings that give this garden its distinctive character. The story here also includes near-total destruction.

During the Second World War, bombing ruined most of the buildings and animals; of about 2,000 specimens, only 15 survived. The zoo reopened in 1945 with just a few dozen animals and gradually recovered. Today, its unusual urban setting, botanical landscape, and animals such as the Komodo dragon and wombat make this much more than a collection of enclosures.