Posted by Not far from the centre of Oberhausen lies the Kaisergarten, the city’s most beautiful and largest park. There is a small animal park in the approximately 30-hectare city park. In addition, visitors come for the extensive network of footpaths through small forests and meadows, Oberhausen Castle and recreational facilities such as mini-golf and great playgrounds for children. Not far away are the famous Gasometer tower and the largest shopping centre in Germany, the Centro Oberhausen. Well known, especially for its interesting architecture, is a newer bridge for pedestrians over the Rhine-Herne Canal.
Oberhausen Zoo
In the small Oberhausen Zoo in the middle of the Kaisergarten, you can see mainly native animals from Germany and Europe. These include: Deer (red deer and fallow deer), wild boars, sheep, mouflons, raccoons, goats, ibexes, pigs (woolly pigs), lynxes, wolves, otters, eagles, donkeys, horses including Shetland ponies and tarpans, guinea pigs, nutria, rabbits, chickens, alpaca (llamas), storks, geese, and peacocks. The turtles (tortoises) in a small house are also very popular at Oberhausen Zoo. For children there is a very popular petting zoo.
Opening hours Oberhausen Zoo 2022: The opening hours of the Oberhausen animal enclosures in the Kaisergarten are daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., in winter only until 5 p.m.
Admission prices 2022 Oberhausen Zoo: Admission is free! This is a big advantage over other zoos in the Ruhr area, which cost up to 21 euros per person. The animal enclosure in Oberhausen is certainly not comparable to the famous zoo in Gelsenkirchen either. For smaller children, however, the small zoo in Oberhausen in the Kaisergarten is perfectly adequate. Feeding the animals is particularly popular with children.
Feeding the animals: Some species of animals in Oberhausen Zoo may be fed, but only with special food purchased at the zoo. This is available from the vending machine next to the entrance, and a pack costs only 1.50 euros. Especially for children, feeding through the fence is an experience. This also has the advantage that the zoo animals get very close to the visitors and you can see the animals up close.
Also at the entrance to the Oberhausen Zoo is a small shop selling souvenirs and the like.
Everything about excursions to Venice, by boat to other islands nearby
Overview of other zoos in the Ruhr area
The most modern and best zoo in the Ruhr area is the Zoom in Gelsenkirchen: More info here
A very large zoo with many animal species (including dolphins) from all continents is the Duisburg Zoo: More information here
A somewhat smaller zoo with reasonable entrance fees is the zoo in Bochum: More information here
Other zoos not far from Oberhausen are Dortmund Zoo and, a little outside the Ruhr region, Düsseldorf Zoo, Wuppertal Zoo and Cologne Zoo. Nowhere in Europe are there more large zoos than in and around the Ruhr area.
Oberhausen Castle
Also in the Kaisergarten is Oberhausen Castle. The Ludwig Galerie in the castle is an art museum that presents temporary exhibitions from various fields. For example, high art from the Peter and Irene Ludwig Collection is shown, but also caricature and comics (Tintin, Käpt’n Blaubär), illustration (Janosch, Wilhelm Busch) or photography exhibitions (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Peter Lindbergh, Jim Rakete).
The Kaisergarten restaurant is considered one of the best restaurants in Oberhausen (rather upmarket, very high quality).
You should also visit the Memorial Hall in Oberhausen Castle. This exhibition is dedicated to the crimes of the Nazi era. The Oberhausen Memorial Hall was opened in 2010. It focuses on the city of Oberhausen during the Nazi era between 1933 and 1945. There is no entrance fee to the memorial hall.
Directions to the Kaisergarten
Buses with the numbers 956 and 966 stop directly in front of the palace and connect the Kaisergarten with Oberhausen main railway station. However, the two bus routes run rather infrequently. Both together during the week only 3 times per hour during the day (as of summer 2017).
The Oberhausen Zoo is located in the park behind the castle. The Neue Mitte Oberhausen is about 20 minutes away on foot, the city centre about 40 min. Even closer is the famous Gasometer tower and the tree2tree climbing park, which is well-known in the area. The climbing park is also called Kletterwald or Hochseilgarten Oberhausen.
Since 2011 there has also been a spectacular footbridge over the Rhine-Herne Canal next to the Kaisergarten (see picture). The 400-metre-long bridge called “Slinky Springs to Fame” has a very impressive architecture.