Wildlife Park Archives • Page 3 of 3 • Themeparkblogger

Wild- und Freizeitpark Willingen

Above the Hessian town of Willingen is the Wild- und Freizeitpark Willingen. Although the name suggests otherwise, the park is a wildlife park with a small fairy tale forest, a falconry, a few dinosaur figures and a medium sized playground with some rides by Heege and a small railroad, which can be activated every seven minutes by a switch on your own. The additional term Freizeitpark is therefore not really understandable, as some zoos offer the same without that addition in their name.

The few enclosures are all generously designed and take advantage of the hillside location on the Ettelsberg. This location is certainly quite beneficial for animals. The mountain goats, however, took advantage of the few straight parts of their enclosure.

Wildpark Schwarze Berge

Although the northern part of Germany can generally be described as very flat there are also mountains including some very steep ones. The Harburg Mountains just south of Hamburg just fall into this category. In fact, until some years ago you could find a ski slope with a functional lift for the enthusiastic Hanseatic people, who love to go skiing in their February school holidays. Also, if some mountain shots were required for the TV show Die Rettungsflieger, they were filmed here. Much better known among the Hamburg citizens and the inhabitants of the Lower Saxony district of Harburg however, is the wildlife park Wildpark Schwarze Berge which has been entertained the masses with its free-running pot-bellied pigs since its founding in 1969.

Most of the enclosures understandably include domestic deer species, but there are also a large number of domestic cat and otter species in the wildlife park. In addition to other four-legged and invertebrate animals, some birds of prey are represented. These have their own show in the Wildpark Schwarze Berge, which is very worth seeing, funny and informative at the same time.

In addition to a generously sized petting enclosure with all sorts of goats – which have traumatised and thrilled generations of children – the playground to the right of the park’s entrance area is the main attraction of all younger visitors. In addition to classic play equipment you will find many products of the company Heege, such as a Nautic Jet, a Luna Loop, a Sky Diver, and a Butterfly, which can serve as the first roller coaster for the little ones.