For children
garden of 47.5 ha in the Silesian Park with the Dinosaur Valley, an exotarium, an aquarium and an elephant house
For children
zoo on the slope of Równica with falconry shows, an owl house and a fairy-tale alley
For children
enclosure in Pszczyna Park with bison, an educational trail and feedings at fixed times
a small zoo in Makoszowy with alpacas and farm animals, for feeding and stroking
For children
educational farm with animals, workshops and a fenced fir forest near Częstochowa
For children
a three-storey palm house with aquariums, terrariums and an education room in a city park
A zoo in Silesia means six places with animals: Chorzów Zoological Garden, a park in Ustroń, a bison reserve in Pszczyna and smaller farms.
The overview helps you pick a family outing, because the places differ greatly in scale, from a garden on dozens of hectares to a small educational farm. Before you travel, check whether the animals can be seen under a roof or only outdoors.
The biggest is the Silesian Zoological Garden in Chorzów. It lies in the Silesian Park, covers 47.5 hectares and opened in 1958. The Dinosaur Valley is the first thing that catches the eye, but beyond the enclosures stand separate pavilions for an exotarium, an aquarium and elephants. It is a place for a whole day, well known to families from the conurbation.
Two places in the region show animals in conditions close to the natural ones, in a forest or in a historic park.
The Forest Park of Surprises in Ustroń is a zoological garden of fifteen hectares, set among ancient beeches on the Równica hillside. It opened on 1 August 2002. Bison and deer live here, and visitors can watch shows in which birds of prey and owls take to the air. In Pszczyna the Bison Show Reserve lies in the part of Pszczyna Park known as Park Zwierzyniec. It was opened to visitors on 1 June 2008, and the two enclosures together cover about ten hectares.
Three smaller venues fit a short trip, especially for children who want to touch animals or learn something about them.
In Sosnowiec the Exotarium is a palm house holding aquariums and terrariums, in the city park named after Jan Fusiński. A new building, opened on 2 December 2023, replaced an older pavilion from the 1950s. In Zabrze-Makoszowy AnimalWorld Mini ZOO is a small private zoo and farm, opened on 28 May 2020, with lessons about animals and workshops. Near Częstochowa, Stefanówka in Nowa Szarlejka is an agritourism farm with an educational enclosure, animals and workshops, set among fields and woods about seven kilometres from the city centre.
The Exotarium in Sosnowiec, a palm house with aquariums and terrariums, is the best fit under a roof, so it is a good choice for a rainy day. At the other places it is worth asking before you go which parts are visited outdoors.
Bison live in the Bison Show Reserve in Pszczyna and in the Forest Park of Surprises in Ustroń.
In Chorzów: the Dinosaur Valley is the trademark of the Silesian Zoological Garden.
Yes. AnimalWorld Mini ZOO operates in Zabrze-Makoszowy, and the educational farm Stefanówka in Nowa Szarlejka near Częstochowa. Both run workshops.
