Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Societe Royale de Zoologie D'Anvers
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Antwerp Zoo
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1843-
History
Antwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world. Since its foundation, the park has been controlled by De Koninklijke Maarschappil voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, a society originally called the a society originally called Société Royale de Zoologie d'Anvers (The Antwerp Royal Society for Zoology). Its first director was renowned zoologist and botanist Jacques Kets. He accepted this position on one condition: a museum had to be built to house his nature-historical collections. This building was inaugurated in 1944 by H.M. King Leopold I