The 5 Best Zoos & Aquariums in Northern Hungary, Northern Hungary

Miskolc Zoo and Cultural Park opened on 20th August 1983. Our zoo is located in a 21 hectare hornbeam-oak forest connected to the Bükk National Park, this way we can also present the rich flora and fauna of the Bükk Mountains. Written records prove that King Louis the Great had established a royal game preserve in the Csanyik valley in 1355, therefore our zoo is considered to be Hungary’s oldest animal holding place. The zoo is home to around 700 specimens of nearly 130 species and varieties. Visitors can also meet the residents of a typical forest of the Carpathian Basin, the exotic animals of far away continents and native domestic animals that have become curiosities nowadays. Besides presenting animals to visitors, we would also like to draw attention to the small wonders of nature surrounding us. An educational pathway was created for this purpose to exhibit the natural values of our immediate environment. Our zoo also takes part in international breeding programmes that have made it possible for animals extinct in the wild to survive in zoos. A unique initiative was to establish a conservation statue park with life-size bronze statues of animals commemorating the species’ that became extinct as a result of human activity. Our zoo endeavours to join in the popularization of conservation and animal protection and to help environmental education reach all ages, especially the rising generations. The forest environment of Miskolc Zoo is an excellent place to make friends with nature.

Europe's largest fresh-water aquarium system Within the walls of the Lake Tisza Ecocentre you can step into an amazing underwater world and marvel the region's native fish species in the largest fresh-water aquarium system of Europe with a capacity of over 735,000 litres on level -1 and -2 in the main building. The inner aquariums are directly connected to an artificial lake next to the building, so they form a complex of huge freshwater system. You will be inspired by more than 40 native Hungarian fish species, among them pikes, wels catfish or carps. It is difficult to decide, but maybe our most spectacular inhabitants are the fishes of sturgeon family: european, diamond and starry sturgeons.

You can meet exotic species, reptiles, big cats and the animals of the Hungarian fields and forests alike in the tiny but continuously expanding Zoo.