Tiergarten Schönbrunn

Vienna, Austria

About Tiergarten Schönbrunn

The history of Tiergarten Schönbrunn goes back to Empress Maria Theresia and her husband Franz Stephan von Lothringen (Franz I).

In 1745, Franz I commissioned the architect Jean Nicholas Jadot der Ville-Issey, to design a menagerie in the park of Schönbrunn, the new Habsburg-Lothringen summer residence.

The facility consisted of 12 enclosures with equally sized animal houses. In the summer of 1752, after a one-year construction period, the animals were brought to the zoo and presented to the public.

The octagonal pavilion in the center of the facility, designed as a breakfast room and salon,was only completed in 1759. Even today, this pavilion remains the zoo’s historical centerpiece.

Tiergarten Schönbrunn is the oldest zoo in the world!

Official website: www.zoovienna.at

Giant pandas at Tiergarten Schönbrunn

In 1991 the Austrian minister of economics, Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, would like to see giant pandas in Vienna. He starts to talk about it with several chinese high-ranking diplomats.

On September 20, 2002 the chinese Primeminister Zhu Rongji visited Vienna. He was bringing good news to Bundeskanzler Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel and Zoo Director Dr. Helmut Pechlaner. Tiergarten Schönbrunn would receive a breeding couple of giant pandas.

On March 14, 2003 a young pair of pandas, Yang Yang & Long Hui, were transferred from China to Tiergarten Schönbrunn.

The animals were on loan to the Republic of Austria by the People’s Republic of China for a period of 10 years.  This loan has been renewed in 2013.

Yang Yang & Long Hui had 5 cubs in Vienna, before Long Hui’s death in December 2016.

A new male, Yuan Yuan,  arrived in Austria in April 2019.

Yang Yang & Yuan Yuan will return to China in 2024 and a new panda pair will move to Austria after an update of the panda enclosure will be finished.

    Latest News

    Tiergarten Schönbrunn

    Zoo Vienna’s cub is male

    2013-09-20

    All good things go by three. After Fu Long and Fu Hu, the third panda cub in Tiergarten Schönbrunn is also a male. Yang Yang left the Breedingbox long enough and gave the keepers a chance to take a look at the cub. Panda keeper Renta Haider took the first pictures of the little Austrian […]

    Yang Yang gives birth to a cub @ Zoo Vienna

    2013-08-15

    Yang Yang gave birth to a cub at Tiergarten Schönbrunn / Zoo Vienna on August 14, 2013. This birth is the third time that panda cubs were born in Vienna, three times after a natural mating. So far, no other European zoo has managed to naturally breed giant pandas. The keepers could already tell by […]

    Yang Yang & Long Hui mated again @ Zoo Vienna

    2013-04-11

    Yang Yang & Long Hui, Tiergarten Schönbrunn / Zoo Vienna’s panda couple mated again last weekend! The Austrian panda pair is world-famous for their good breeding skills. Natural matings were seen on Sunday April 7 and Monday April 8, 2013. We now have to wait 3 until 6 months to know if Yang Yang will […]

    CCRCGP & Zoo Vienna renew panda contract for 10 years

    2012-12-20

    Tiergarten Schönbrunn / Zoo Vienna announced today that the negotiations between Austria & China are finished and that their panda pair will stay in Vienna for 10 more years. Yang Yang & Long Hui came to Zoo Vienna in March 2003 from the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Wolong. The […]

    Yang Yang & Long Hui: back together in Vienna

    2012-11-22

    Soon after Fu Hu moved to China, the gate between his mother Yang Yang and his father Long Hui’s enclosures were opened again at Tiergarten Schönbrunn. It gives Yang Yang & Long Hui the opportunity to interact with another panda and to walk around where they want in the 2 enclosures. The enclosures are also […]

    Photo Albums

    Visitor Information

    Tiergarten Schönbrunn / Zoo Vienna is open daily from 9 a.m. – 365 days a year – also on public holidays. Closing time varies according to the seasons and is between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The ticket office closes 30 minutes before closing time – this is also the latest entry time for the zoo.