Date of issue: 9 August 2006

The very first zoos were created in the East in ancient times, while the first garden where animals were kept that can be considered the first zoo of modern times was at Schönbrunn near Vienna, which opened in 1752. Hungary’s first zoo, the thirtieth in modern times, opened on 9 August 1866. Its park was designed by the municipal chief gardener Ármin Petz, and the Great Pond and the well supplying water to it was the work of the engineer Ferenc Reitter. The buildings were designed by Henrik Koch Jnr. and Antal Szkalnitzky. At the time the public could see almost fifty different types of animals in eleven houses of various sizes and enclosed outdoor grassed areas.

In the early 1900s the zoo came into municipal ownership and reconstruction began. The plan was to display the animals on a taxonomic basis, that is to say the animals were to be grouped according to relationships. At the same time plans for a botanic garden were also drawn up. New buildings were raised in place of almost all the old zoo’s structures. The main gate and the Elephant House were designed by Kornél Neuschlosz. Károly Kós and Dezső Zrumeczky designed most of the animal houses, the Bird House, the Buffalo House and the Deer House. The Palm House and Aquarium beneath it were built at this time based on plans by Károly Räde and Keresztély Ilsemann. The rebuilt zoo opened its gates to the public on 20 May 1912. The new arrangement was highly acclaimed, as were the enclosures using a dry ditch and artificial cliffs, and the freshwater and sea Aquarium that had previously not existed in Hungary. The Cave Cinema in the Little Cliff soon became a favourite with the public. World War I, and the subsequent financial crisis and great depression brought grave difficulties, and the situation likewise became tragic during World War II with a lack of building materials, fodder and labour. Due to the proximity of the railway bombing destroyed buildings and killed animals. In the postwar years reconstruction took place. In 1966 the Insect House was opened, and the Little and Large Cliffs were restored for the centenary of the zoo. A new Giraffe House was erected on the site of the one destroyed in the war and a new Buffalo House was completed. In the mid 1990s a project began to rid the zoo of bars and to systematically renovate the zoo. Thus every corner of the zoo has undergone change. Several animal houses have been restored to their former glory, such as the Palm and Elephant Houses, while others have been modernised. The reconstruction was aimed not only at preserving and enriching the zoo’s environment and buildings as historic monuments, but also at improving living conditions for animals.

The main motif of the stamp design of the block is a mandrill and there are giraffes in the background. The surrounding frame features some of the rarities that can be found in the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden. Of the animals there are the blue macaw, white rhinoceros, babirusa, tapir, striped hyena, boa, Siberian tiger, Asiatic black bear, southern cassowary, black panther, fairy-bluebird, keel-billed toucan, green basilisk, fruit bats, ring-tailed lemur, and of the plants creeping lily, aloes, bromeliads, tropical ferns, palms and lianas. The first day cover shows a view of the zoo, while the design of the commemorative postmark incorporates a stylised marmoset and palm leaf.

Source: www.zoobudapest.com

Order code:
2006211030011 (block)
2006211060012 (FDC)

Date of issue: 9 August 2006
Face value: HUF 500
Number of copies: 100,000
Printing method: offset
Perforated size: 30 x 40 mm
Trimmed size: 105 x 67 mm
Printed by Pénzjegynyomda Zrt.
Designed by Kálmán Székely