Tiergarten Nürnberg

„Artificial“ animals

The zoo itself and our artificial animals are very popular for creating wonderful pieces of art. The Tiergarten Nürnberg supplies of some animal sculptures which are also accepted as fancifull playground devices for climbing and toying by our children visitors. Furthermore, in the natural history center next to the main entrance, are regularly held exhibitions, both with paintings and photographs. While those photography shows generally represent the animal kingdom very objectively, painted pictures expose a wide range from rather detailled imitations of the real world up to abstract painting.

Just besides the ibexes´ enclosure, the Nuremberg sculptor Christian Rösner has carved - on the spot! - an eagle and a marmot from a dead pine bar with his chainsaw. An extraordinary amalgamation between art and nature.

Wild boars at the Nuremberg zoo? Not everybody will discover those shy animals at first sight. Because the wild sow with her piglets is hiding at the end of the rhododendron hedge, just in front of the natural history house. But don´t be afraid! Those wild animals can neither run away nor attack - because all of them are made of bronze, created by the Fürth sculptor Gudrun Kunstmann (1917-1994). Her affection to the boars found its artistic expression in materials like bronze, plaster, wax or clay, plenty of her animal sculptures are made of.

During her lifetime, Gudrun Kunstmann manufactured numerous works of art for the "Verein der Tiergartenfreunde e.V.", a Nuremberg zoo organization of friends. With due respect to her work as a sculptor, the association is administering her estate and is exhibiting the most impressive objects at the Tiergarten Nürnberg. That´s why a group of wisents, a camel and a pelican have found a firm place in here. Additional exhibits can be seen at the dolphinarium: a ball playing dolphin and a young lad with flute, lying on a stone plinth.

Gudrun Kunstmann continued the tradition of a realistic, figurative depiction. Yet, she did not regard this as a plain imitation of nature. In her opinion art was supposed to generalize beauty and elevate it. So a contemplator of a sculpture should not only see an animal, but merely an ideal, reduced back to its essential characteristic issues. Still, her art does not divert from nature, rather towards it ... as well as to further works of art.

What other pieces of art does the Tiergarten Nürnberg have to offer? Perhaps those portal figures from the Franconian artist Philipp Kittler at the zoo´s entrance - his figures were already decorating the portal of the former zoo at the Dutzendteich lake - and a sculpture called "Little boy on a dolphin" from C. P. Jennewein, just below the dolphinarium.

The row of object is completed by a carved wooden honey bear from Birgit Maria Jönsson at our bee farm. Not only our children visitors are very fond of this bear, but also bees.