The Liberec Zoo is preparing to build a new entrance and facilities

Liberec - The Zoo in Liberec is preparing to build a new entrance and facilities for keepers. Both projects are part of the Active Recreation Center in Lidové sady, co-financed by European funds. The construction of the new entrance near the terminus of the tram line in Lidové sady and the renovation of the dilapidated administrative building is estimated to cost 120 million crowns. The zoo is currently looking for a contractor, with the deadline for applications set for September 7. This was reported today by the Czech News Agency, having discovered it in the public procurement bulletin of the Ministry for Regional Development.
     The new entrance to the zoo will take the form of a roof supported by columns with a lowered internal structure. The roof will be covered with greenery. The internal structure will be divided into two parts - a glass hall for the public with an entrance area, ticket sales, and an information center, and facilities for staff and visitors. "The new entrance should provide additional opportunities for exhibits and a new perspective and dimension for navigating the zoo," said the zoo director, David Nejedlo, to the Czech News Agency earlier. The project also includes the reconstruction of the existing administrative building, which is in unsatisfactory condition. Facilities will be available for keepers and spaces for educational programs will also be created there.
     The Liberec Zoo covers an area of 13 hectares, was established in the valley of a stream in Lidové sady in the autumn of 1919, and is the oldest zoo in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, the origins of the zoo enclosure in Liberec date back to 1904, when an ornithological society built a large public aviary. It later expanded to include another aviary and enclosures for deer. As early as the 1920s, the zoo boasted a pool for sea lions and a bear enclosure. Between the two world wars, it housed up to 500 animals from 130 species. Today, the garden houses around 950 animals from 170 species, many of which are seriously endangered.
     The zoo is the second most visited tourist attraction in the Liberec region, after the entertainment center Babylon. Last year, it was visited by more than 340,000 people. The most popular animals in Liberec include white tigers, sea lions, and chimpanzees. The zoo has great success in breeding rare animals, with the most significant being a trio of white tigers born in 2002, and another trio of cubs was born at the zoo at the beginning of the summer holidays. Successful breeding programs for birds of prey and their return to nature have also been achieved.