Zoo · Meissen

ehemals Tierpark Meißen Siebeneichen

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

For two decades the Former Tierpark Meißen Siebeneichen was one of Saxony's most charming little animal parks: a hillside 'Bergtierpark' of paddocks, aviaries and a petting zoo tucked into the slope between the Elbe and Schloss Siebeneichen, on the south-eastern edge of Meißen. It was never a grand zoo but a scrappy, privately run menagerie of about three hectares, and it closed permanently in late 2021 after its operator's lease came to an end.↗↗↗

What made it special was its mix of rare heritage farm breeds and odd pieces of exotic wildlife — Bennett kangaroos, Arctic foxes, rheas and porcupines shared the hillside with dwarf donkeys, llamas and unusual goats — capped by a true local legend, the Meissen 'Elbe crocodile.' At a few euros a head, it was a favourite family outing rather than a bucket-list destination.↗↗

Today the site is in transition. The city of Meißen is rebuilding the grounds into a municipally operated Familientierpark (family animal park), with construction on the open areas under way from 2025 and an opening targeted for 2026. So the old Tierpark belongs to memory — but the slope below the castle is far from finished.

A LITTLE INSPIRATION IS ON ITS WAY

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Zoo · Meissen

ehemals Tierpark Meißen Siebeneichen

Meissen, DE 4.0 (656 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

For two decades the Former Tierpark Meißen Siebeneichen was one of Saxony's most charming little animal parks: a hillside 'Bergtierpark' of paddocks, aviaries and a petting zoo tucked into the slope between the Elbe and Schloss Siebeneichen, on the south-eastern edge of Meißen. It was never a grand zoo but a scrappy, privately run menagerie of about three hectares, and it closed permanently in late 2021 after its operator's lease came to an end.↗↗↗

What made it special was its mix of rare heritage farm breeds and odd pieces of exotic wildlife — Bennett kangaroos, Arctic foxes, rheas and porcupines shared the hillside with dwarf donkeys, llamas and unusual goats — capped by a true local legend, the Meissen 'Elbe crocodile.' At a few euros a head, it was a favourite family outing rather than a bucket-list destination.↗↗

Today the site is in transition. The city of Meißen is rebuilding the grounds into a municipally operated Familientierpark (family animal park), with construction on the open areas under way from 2025 and an opening targeted for 2026. So the old Tierpark belongs to memory — but the slope below the castle is far from finished.

↗↗

A hillside park with a long memory

The animal park's story reaches back to 1979, when the city's sports-and-venues department began turning the lower northern part of the Siebeneichen Park into a 'Heimtiergarten' — a home-and-native animal garden. The first phase, about 11,000 square metres, opened on 12 October 1984 with a shelter building, a winter barn and seven aviaries, holding Shetland ponies, horned Zackel sheep, Cameroon sheep, fallow deer and various pheasants. Pony and donkey rides for children were early attractions, and the garden soon developed a reputation for keeping rare, at-risk domestic breeds.↗

Like so much in eastern Germany, it had a rough time after reunification. Several operators took turns at a run-down site, the animal keeping drew criticism, and the park eventually fell quiet. Then Heiko Drechsler, a trained zoo keeper, cleared the junk from the grounds, repaired and rebuilt the enclosures, and reopened it at Easter 2004 as a private hillside zoo on land still owned by the city. He ran it for roughly twenty years.↗↗

The end came in late 2021, when the city decided not to renew the lease after two decades. Rising costs, disputes with the municipality and the long drag of the pandemic had worn the small park down, and the animal collection was gradually reduced before the gates closed for the last time.↗↗

Who lived on the slope

At its best the Tierpark held around 400 animals across some 85 species on roughly three hectares. The livestock side was its heart: dwarf donkeys and ponies, llamas, sika deer and muflon grazed the pasture slopes, alongside rare goats such as Pinzgauer, Tauernschecken and Walliser Blackneck, plus a notable number of old poultry breeds — Brahama hens, Budapest tumbling pigeons, Cröllwitz turkeys, crested geese and Indian runner ducks.↗↗↗

Against that farmyard backdrop the keepers gathered a delightful scatter of exotic wildlife: rheas, Bennett wallabies, Arctic foxes, nutria, white-tailed porcupines, red wooled and mini pigs, and, as a local curiosity, American red squirrels. Spacious aviaries housed snow owls, buzzards, ravens and eagle owls, while parakeets, ducks and pheasants dotted the grounds and prairie dogs and tortoises got their own enclosures.↗↗↗

The crocodile and the small-scale charms

The single most talked-about resident was the 'Meißner Elbkrokodil' — Meißen's Elbe crocodile. The creature had become a beloved piece of local folklore after sightings of a reptile in the river, and meeting it live was billed as a highlight for visiting families.↗

The rest of the draw was its friendly, low-key scale. A petting enclosure let children stroke the animals and get to know their characters, a small playground catered to younger kids, and a seating terrace gave a genuine excuse to linger: a packed lunch with a view over the Elbe. It was the kind of place designed for a relaxed half-day out with a stroller and a few euros in change.↗↗

From closure to a new family park

The story on this particular slope hasn't ended. After the closure, a city working group spent years searching for a future for the grounds, and the result is the Familientierpark Meißen — a municipally planned, barrier-aware family animal park taking shape on about 1.7 hectares of the old site.↗↗

Work on the open areas — shaping the land for new enclosures, laying and paving paths, and running water and other services — began in February 2025, with around 1.5 million euros budgeted by 2026 and an opening targeted for that year. The planned line-up shifts the emphasis toward conservation: an experience farmyard of Dahomey dwarf cattle, alpacas, Soay sheep, edle goats, mini Shetlands and Saxon chickens with a petting and feeding area; a 3,300-square-metre enclosure for endangered Barbary macaques, the only European primate; and small native and threatened species such as the European mink, ground squirrel and dice snake, plus terrarium displays of invertebrates and amphibians.↗↗

The setting remains the park's quiet selling point. The grounds sit at the city's edge nestled between the town forest, Park Siebeneichen and the Elbe meadows, with sightlines toward Schloss Siebeneichen, the town vineyards and the Bosel hill; the redesign aims to keep and open up those views while smoothing the steep hillside paths underfoot.↗

Planning a visit

For now the gates of the old Tierpark are shut, so don't set out expecting to see the kangaroos or the Elbe crocodile. If you are in Meißen for a day and want to combine animals with the town's bigger attractions, the park's location on the south-eastern edge, just off the B6 toward Dresden, means it can be paired with the historic core — the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic cathedral and the world-famous Meissen porcelain manufactory — all within a few kilometres of Siebeneichen.↗↗

If your reason for coming is the animal park itself, watch for the new Familientierpark, which is due to open from 2026 with a conservation-and-family focus and, unusually for a hillside site, an emphasis on step-free and child-friendly paths. Until then, the slope below the castle is a work in progress rather than a place to visit.↗↗

What makes it special

01

A private hillside 'Bergtierpark' of about 400 animals in 85 species, clinging to the slope between the Elbe and Schloss Siebeneichen.↗

02

Reopened at Easter 2004 by keeper Heiko Drechsler after the post-reunification years, and run for some twenty years until late 2021.↗↗

03

Home of the legendary Meissen 'Elbe crocodile,' alongside Bennett kangaroos, Arctic foxes, rheas and rare heritage goats and poultry.↗↗

04

The site is being rebuilt into the municipally run Familientierpark Meißen, with an opening targeted for 2026.↗↗

A little planning goes a long way

The original Tierpark is permanently closed (since late 2021), so don't travel to it expecting live animals or the Elbe crocodile.↗↗
Meißen's main sights — the Albrechtsburg, the cathedral and the porcelain manufactory — sit only a couple of kilometres away, so the Siebeneichen area pairs well with a half-day in the old town.↗
For an animal outing with children, follow the progress of the new Familientierpark, whose opening is targeted for 2026 with a focus on rare breeds, Barbary macaques and conservation.↗↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Finding your next place…

ehemals Tierpark Meißen Siebeneichen

Why go?

More of Germany: Berlin

Finding your next place…

ehemals Tierpark Meißen Siebeneichen

Why go?

More of Germany: Berlin

A hillside park with a long memory

Who lived on the slope

The crocodile and the small-scale charms

From closure to a new family park

Planning a visit

What makes it special

A little planning goes a long way

About this guide