This Zoological Garden owes its origin to Johannes Nill, a carpenter in the city, and a great lover of animals.
His collection at first consisted of indigenous animals, such as deer, roe, foxes, singing-birds, etc. Wild boars and chamois were afterwards added. A large circle of Nill’s acquaintances paid regular visits to the collection, and in 1866 a restaurant was built and called the Deer Park Inn. With the proceeds of this restaurant a Zoological Garden was laid out, and a deer house, a monkey house, some bear pits, and duck-ponds were constructed. To these were afterwards added enclosures for chamois, wild boars, goats, ducks, birds of prey, and small birds. The Garden was opened on July 1, 1871. The entrance fee was fixed at three-pence, and a penny-halfpenny for children; yearly subscribers paid two florins for a family, and one florin for one person.
After the closing of the well-known Werner Zoological Garden in the centre of the town, more land was acquired in 1875, and several new buildings were erected, including a llama house and a gymnasium for children.
In 1883 the lion house was built.
In 1885 the large Entressicher Menagerie was bought and added to the collection, and military band concerts were instituted. The price of season tickets was now raised to eight marks.
In 1893 large additions were made to the Garden. A new elephant house, a bird-of-prey aviary, a small-cats’ house, the antelope house, and a large ornamental square were erected. Unhappily, it was not permitted to the owner and founder of the Garden to see the end of his work as a completed whole, as death claimed him in May, 1894.
PELICANS, STUTTGART.
Thanks to the great encouragement of the public and the strong interest manifested in it by the Royal house and the civic magistracy, the Zoological Garden is at the present day one of the chief sights of the town and surrounding country.