Schönbrunn Desert House: Fascinating desert landscapes in the middle of Vienna
The Schönbrunn Desert House offers a unique insight into the flora and fauna of the desert regions. Right next to the Schönbrunn Zoo Located in the desert, the Desert House is home to fascinating desert dwellers such as snakes, scorpions and cacti. Visitors can go on an exciting journey of discovery through various desert ecosystems and learn more about the impressive adaptability of flora and fauna in extreme habitats.
Short info:
- Where is it located? Directly opposite the Palm House in the Schönbrunn Palace Park, 1130 Vienna
- When is it open? Jan.- April and Oct.- Dec.: 9:00- 17:00, May- Sept.: 9:00- 18:00.
- How much does the entrance fee cost? Here you can find the price list. With the NÖ Card Admission is free once.
- What is there to see? Mainly cacti and desert plants and a few animals.
The Desert House is located directly on the grounds of Schönbrunn, a few meters before the Tiergarten located directly opposite the Palm House. You can easily recognize it by the metal cactus in front of the entrance. The desert house is not part of the zoo, however, and you have to pay a separate entrance fee. There are, however, various combination tickets. An adventure trail leads through authentic desert landscapes from Central America to Madagascar. Mainly cacti and other succulents (juicy plants) can be seen here. There are also a few animals if you are lucky enough to spot them.
nibble fish
Right at the entrance there is a tank with reddish sucker mullets. These schooling fish, native to Turkey, Syria and Jordan, are known to many as nibble fish, as they are often used as a therapy for various skin problems. You can put your hand in here and let the fish nibble on you, which is particularly popular with children.
Rattlesnakes and other cave dwellers
First, you walk along a path where you can see some fish and a rattlesnake. In addition to the Zagros newt, which is considered the most beautiful newt in the world, and the blind cave tetras, which have no eyes, you can also see giant jerboas here. Unfortunately, they didn't show themselves during our visit.
facility for naked mole rats
A highlight of the desert house is the 70-meter-long glass tube labyrinth, which is inhabited by around 50 naked mole rats. Unique for these not-so-pretty mammals (they have a wrinkled body, long incisors and bristles): they live like bees in a colony with a queen - and they live exclusively underground.
In various ways turtles you will meet again and again. The path offers interesting information boards with information about different plants
The oldest potted plant in the world
In 1785, Emperor Joseph II sent two gardeners to South Africa to bring rare plants and animals to Vienna. A Fockea capensis, long thought to be extinct, came to Schönbrunn. In 1900, it was presented as a living fossil at the Paris World Exhibition, shortly before specimens were discovered in South Africa. The plant we see today is descended from the "Old Lady of Schönbrunn," a 600-year-old plant cultivated in a pot that was first successfully propagated in the 1970s.
Our conclusion: it is a nice visit if you are in the area. The exhibition is small but nicely done. But seeing it once is probably enough
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| day | opening hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Tuesday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Thursday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Friday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Saturday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Sunday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
Close by
Palm House Schönbrunn
- Great Palm House Schönbrunn, Schönbrunn Palace Park
Schönbrunn Castle
- Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, 1130 Vienna
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Lainzer Tiergarten- Lainzer Tor
- Lainzer Tor, 1130 Vienna
