Based on the Czech and Slovak zoo thread I decided to start a Polish one. Below annual visitors in Poland. I will try to add the numbers for the smaller ones when I find the data. Year 2021 Zoo Gdańsk - 519 198 Zoo Chorzów - 492 054 Zoo Warszawa - 762 885 Zoo Poznań - ? Zoo Opole - 318 000 Zoo Wrocław - 1 166 000 Zoo Kraków - under 500 000 Zoo Płock - 198 000 Zoo Toruń - ?
I found a nice publication about attendance of Polish tourist places covering years 2019-2021. It skips some municipal zoos as well as several private zoos. And I don´t know if maybe some museums, NP centers or botanical gardens have also sizable live animal collection und should be on the list, I don´t mention them. Year 2019 Zoo Wroclaw - 1 650 635 Zoo Warszawa - 836 406 Zoo Gdansk - 582 585 Zoo Krakow - 504 251 Poznan Nowe Zoo - 471 592 Akwarium Gdynie - 463 530 Zoo Chorzow - 420 310 Zoo Opole - 274 402 Zoo Zamosc - 234 159 Poznan Stare Zoo - 161 949 Zoo Lodz - 142 761 Zoo Torun - 105 877 Zoo Charlota - 100 000 Zagroda zubrow Psczyna - 85 510 Zoo Kadzidlowo - 27 500 Zagroda zubrow Wolin - 23 752 Canpol Czluchow - 10 000 Year 2021 Zoo Wroclaw - 1 562 993 Zoo Gdansk - 582 020 Zoo Warszawa - 499 422 Zoo Krakow - 494 853 Zoo Chorzow - 492 054 Poznan Nowe Zoo - 478 245 Akwarium Gdynie - 365 056 Poznan Stare Zoo - 190 057 Zoo Lodz - 170 280 Zagroda zubrow Wolin - 134 605 Zoo Torun - 99 336 Zoo Charlota - 83 000 Zoo Kadzidlowo - 33 00 @Marcin do you have some figures collected for year 2022? I know Lodz broke 1 mio, but I can´t find much info from Polish zoos otherwise.
Nothing yet besides Gdansk who, as I remember, mentioned couple days ago that they passed the 500k mark. They should start announcing the numbers in January. Will paste the list asap
I found this neat map of all licensed Polish zoos. Very handy. BTW it even contained 2 establishments I had no idea existed till now. It was created by Zoo Lesne Zacisze (that I have seen referenced as the best one among private zoos in Poland) earlier this year so it should depict curent state. This gives us 25 zoos (26 if I count Poznan old zoo and new zoo separatedly). I will type them down and add attendance info in case I have found any for year 2022. 1. Zoo Wroclaw - 1 710 000 2. Zoo Leczna 3. Zoo Lubin - approximately 500 000 (entry is free of charge) 4. Zoo Bydgoszcz 5. Zoo Torun 6. Zoo Zamosc - 210 000 7. Zoo Wojciechow 8. Zoo Lodz - 1 000 000 (they broke 1 mio few days before year end) 9. Zoo Borysew - app 80 000 10. Zoo Krakow - 539 190 11. Zoo Plock - 199 505 12. Zoo Warszawa - "almost 1 000 000" 13. Zoo Opole - 288 000 14. Zoo Bialystock 15. Akwarium Gdynia - app 500 000 16. Zoo Gdansk - 519 198 17. CANPOL Czluchow (free of charge) 18. Zoo Charlotta 19. Zoo Chorzow (Katowice) - 480 000 20. Park Ustron 21. Mini zoo Sosnowiec (free of charge) 22. Zoo Lesne Zacisze 23. Zoo Kadzidlowo 24. Zoo Poznan (Stare and Nowe) - app 700 000 25. Zoo Nowy Tomysl None of listed zoos that lack attendance info should have more than 500k. Most of those places have probably around 100k or less. The list lacks Fokarium Hel (seal rescue station) that had 500 000 visitors in year 2014, but I lack newer info. Czech tourists in summer 2023 complained about 1 hour qeueing time to buy a ticket so I conclude it probably still has good attendance.
The map and list of attendance numbers is fantastic. It's great to see Wroclaw, Warsaw and Lodz all hitting the million mark, with Wroclaw at 1.7 million and now one of the most popular zoos in Europe. The map is fascinating as apparently it's a 5-hour drive from Chorzow in the south to Gdansk in the north, and then around a 7-hour drive from Poznan in the west to Zamosc in the east. If I had the time and money, I'd love to do a big Polish zoo trip.
I visited it, although already some years ago. At that time Fokarium was mostly visible from the public path on the Hel seaside promenade. One could pay a small sum to enter and see the underwater view, but the minority of people did it. So the attendance may be impossible to count there.
I have official data for 2021 from Polish Zoo and Aquarium Yearbook. They are slightly different from those given by Jana: Zoo Wrocław - 1 562 993 Zoo Warszawa - 661 065 paid + 101 802 free tickets = 762 867 Zoo Gdańsk - 519 198 (only paid tickets) Zoo Kraków - 401 439 paid + 98 861 free tickets = 500 300 Zoo Chorzów - 489 487 Zoo Lubin - 456 437 (free entrance based on counting by zoo security guard)* Akwarium Gdynia - 365 712 Zoo Opole - 318 501 Zoo Płock - 198 616 paid + 27 384 free tickets = 226 000 Zoo Zamość - 203 070 Zoo Łódź - 170 280 Zoo Bydgoszcz - 121 311 Zoo Charlotta - 112 461 (zoo) and 78 450 (fokarium)* Zoo Toruń - 99 336 paid + 11 054 free tickets = 110 390 Zoo Leśne Zacisze - 40.000 Zoo Kadzidłowo - 33 000 *I don't know how they count visitors in Zoo Lubin. There are three gates there and security guard box is in one place only. So if someone is just taking a shortcut through the zoo is counted as zoo visitor *In Charlotta is paid separately to zoo and separately to fokarium. I think that almost every visitor to the fokarium also bought a ticket to the zoo. So these numbers shouldn’t be given together, no more than 115 000 visitors in Charlotta I think. There is no official data for 2022 yet. All zoos provided their data, all with one exception … Zoo Warszawa. For 2023 we must very patient. Of course, individual zoos provide data for 2023 on Facebook, zoo site, etc. For example, Zoo Lubin officially announced 562 448, best year for them.
A few notes about the map posted by Jana. I don't know how official this list is (source is General Management for Environmental Protection) but is not complete. What we can add? Palmiarnia (palm house) Poznań - green houses with plants but also aquarium, about 160 species of fish in approximately 30 medium-sized overloaded tanks. Plus some reptiles and birds. 140 000 visitors. Palmiarnia Gliwice - again mainly plants but also modern aquarium (about 100 species) plus some terrariums and exhibits. Egzotarium Sosnowiec - opened a month ago after a very long reconstruction. Plants but also aquarium, terrariums and aviaries. Sosnówka - Bird Park, not so big but only real bird park in Poland, near to Polish-Czech border. Sarbsk - Sea Park, theme park with seals, sea lions and sea birds. Hel - Fokarium, seals, rather small, but very popular with high number of visitors. Bałtów - part of the tourist complex, Wildpark and Safari Park. Chrusty near Kielce - Oceanika, part of Świętokrzyska Polana, several aquariums. Międzyzdroje - Oceanarium, a ridiculous name, but it's only a medium-sized aquarium. Świnoujście - Fisheries Museum with several aquariums Kraków - Natural History Museum, several aquariums and terrariums, but the most important is the best preserved woolly rhinoceros, better than Siberian mammoths. Białowieża - Rezerwat Pokazowy Żubrów, kind of wildpark in German Heimattierpark style, a place for rescuing a wisent after I WW. Pszczyna - Rezerwat Pokazowy Żubrów, again Heimattierpark, and again a place for rescuing a wisent after I WW. To be honest, I haven't been to most of these places, so I can't judge them personally.
Thank you a lot for additional info. Do you know some other Polish aquariums that are worth a visit but not listed here yet? I have registered that Poland has now several (at least 2) papugarnia - small private places with tame large parrots where visitors can freely interact with them - feed them and pet them. Do you consider them among "zoos" and do you know approximately their attendance? BTW I have seen similar place in Slovakia by chance and I hated it with passion.
I think all the most important aquariums have already been discussed. Maybe else Podwodny Świat (Underwater World) in Zakopane near the Slovak border. I never been there. And one more thing: aquarium at Zoo Opole will soon be opening after a 27-year break, of course completely rebuilt and enlarged. Papugarnia (parrot room) is a terrible and scary place. Unfortunately, there are many of them in Poland, in large cities, small towns and popular tourist places. Closed rooms with poor light, almost no vegetation. A several or more parrots of various species, all together among visitors without a place to rest, constantly exposed to contact with people. This is not a place for zoo nerds and animal lovers. I think there may be many visitors since there are so many Papugarni in Poland. Nasty business.
