Brief information:
- What is Herberstein Zoo? The animal world covers an area of 23 hectares with approx. 85 animal species.
- Where is the Herberstein animal world located? The Herberstein animal world at Herberstein Castle is a zoo in the municipality of Stubenberg in Styria. It is not far from the Stubenbergsee.
- When is the park open? Here you can find the opening times and entrance fees.opening times and entrance fees.
The keeping of wild animals has a long tradition in Herberstein and can be traced back to the 17th century, when fallow deer were first kept in Austria. Towards the end of the 1960s, Herberstein was converted into a zoo, in which visitors are given impressions of animals from all five continents. The enclosures are extremely spacious. At first we even have the feeling that it is too big because we only see the animals from a great distance, but that should change quickly.
The first we get breathtaking impressions of the brown bear. The area around the bear is extensive, with a stream with a waterfall flowing right through it. You quickly feel like you are in the middle of nature. We stay here for a good 20 minutes, in the end the bear even goes swimming in the pond.
We continue the round and pass bison, camels, peacocks, pelicans, alpacas, a puma and many more. Each animal has plenty of space with sufficient retreat options. By the way, prairie dogs can be seen all over the park. you get to the monkeys and lions, but the latter are just asleep.
A highlight is the cheetah enclosure, by the way the largest in all of Europe. In 1978, a so-called prey simulator (comparable to a drag lift) for feeding the cheetahs was installed for the first time in the world. The animals seem to feel right at home here, wallowing in the sun, which is finally emerging.
There is also a petting zoo for children near the entrance.
For us, this zoo is one of the most beautiful that we have all visited. You should definitely plan at least 4 hours for it if you want to discover everything.
By the way: if you stay in the area for more than 3 nights, you will receive a “GenussCard”. With this you get a 20% discount when you visit.