Prague Zoo
The zoo that sent Przewalski's horses back to the Mongolian steppes.
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Opened in 1931 on 58 hectares in Troja, Prague Zoo holds 5,000 animals from 676 species, 132 of them threatened. Its Przewalski's horse program achieved the world's first artificial breeding of the subspecies in 2001, with animals then shipped to Mongolia. Forbes ranked it 7th in the world in 2007; TripAdvisor places it 5th.
What to look for
- Przewalski's horses — the zoo produced the world's first artificially bred individual in 2001 and continues to supply Mongolia's rewilding program
- Andean condors — the world's first captive-bred condor hatched here in 1938
- The Gaston memorial — a fur seal who survived the catastrophic 2002 floods by swimming the Vltava and Elbe rivers all the way to Dresden
The zoo is in the Troja district, north of the city centre; the full site spans 58 hectares, so allow at least half a day.
Prague Zoo is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Prague, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Prague pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Prague
- Prague CastleThe Guinness-record largest ancient castle on Earth — and the Czech president still works inside it.
- Charles BridgeCzech legend holds that Charles IV chose his construction start time — 5:31am on 9 July 1357 — because the digits form a palindrome he believed would imbue the bridge with additional strength.
- St. Vitus CathedralOne theory holds that the founding duke may have chosen St. Vitus partly because his name echoes a Slavic sun god — making conversion easier for a populace already devoted to the solar deity Svantevit. Christian and pagan communities shared this hilltop until at least the 11th century.
- Dancing HouseTwo interlocked towers shaped like mid-dance partners, built on a Vltava riverfront plot that sat bombed-out and derelict for decades.
- Prague Astronomical ClockEvery hour, a skeleton marks the time — on a clock mechanism that has been running since 1410.
- National Museum in PragueThe building that closes off Wenceslas Square has anchored Czech protests, rallies, and public life since 1891.