Budapest Főváros Állat- és Növénykertje
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The Capital Zoo and Botanical Garden, originally opened in 1866, was taken over by the Municipality of Budapest in 1907, the same year in which a comprehensive reconstruction was decided upon. On the recommendation of Kornél Neuschloss, a member of the construction committee, the then early-career architects Károly Kós and Dezső Zrumeczky were commissioned to design and supervise the construction of a substantial portion of the zoo’s buildings.
Based on the designs of Kós and Zrumeczky, sixteen pavilions were erected between 1909 and 1912. In addition, they designed smaller structures, including a refuse cart, refuse bins, and a small weather station. The zoo’s entrance complex and the House of Pachyderms were built according to the plans of Kornél Neuschloss, while the Palm House was designed by Gyula Végh, Keresztély Ilsemann, and Károly Räde. The Owl Castle (Bagolyvár) had originally been constructed in 1886 based on designs by Antal Szkalnitzky and Henrik Koch; it was demolished during the reconstruction and rebuilt according to plans by Kós and Zrumeczky.
Landscape design within the zoo was also carried out according to the most up-to-date zoological principles under the direction of Gyula Végh, with animal enclosures defined by natural means such as moats and artificial rock formations. The final site plan was completed in 1909. Most of the buildings were realized by 1910, when Kós terminated his contract and entrusted the continuation of the works to Zrumeczky. The Capital Zoo and Botanical Garden of Budapest was ceremonially reopened on 20 May 1912.
The buildings associated with Kós and Zrumeczky draw primarily on Székely vernacular architecture, thereby creating a kind of “vernacular architectural open-air museum” within the capital.
During the comprehensive reconstruction program initiated in the 1990s, the zoo’s buildings were not only renovated but several structures demolished after the Second World War were reconstructed on the basis of fortunately preserved original plans. As a result, the Poultry Yard, Norwegian House, Crocodile House, Deer House, Bison and Buffalo House, Giraffe and Zebra House, and the Milk Pavilion were rebuilt, contributing to the fact that today—after more than fifty years—the appearance of the zoo largely reflects its state as completed in 1912.
Zoo buildings designed by Károly Kós and Dezső Zrumeczky:
- Bird House
- Buffalo and Bison House
- Poultry Yard
- Ostrich House
- Squirrel House
- Norwegian House
- Kangaroo House
- Small Carnivores House
- Monkey House
- Pheasant House
- Deer House
- Crocodile House
- Castle Ruins
- Giraffe and Zebra House
- Small Rodents House
- Dairy Canteen
- Unrealised projects
Bibliography
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Györgyi Dénes: Az állatkertről. In: Magyar Építőművészet, IV./10-12. 1912 (1–44.)
Lampert Rózsa: A Fővárosi Állat- és Növénykert Műemléki felújítása. In: Műemlékvédelem 43. évf. 5. sz. 1999 (278– 285.)
Gall, Anthony: Kós Károly műhelye – tanulmány és adattár. Mundus Magyar Egyetemi Kiadó, Budapest, 2002 (146–151) [1909-1]
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