Our Zoo was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the country. Although its collection of animals was not especially large, the grounds themselves formed a magnificent park, thanks above all to the brook and the deep ravine.
When the Zoo first opened in 1896, one of its main attractions, both in terms of landscape gardening and architecture, was the observation tower clad in white and pink "marble" slabs. Of course, this was merely a pretty illusion, since it was made of wood, but it stood for a very long time, and while it was open to the public it offered a magnificent panoramic view of Königsberg and the surrounding forests, fields, lakes and rivers.
The view from the artificial stalactite grotto beneath the tower across the pond and along the main avenue was truly enchanting.
Along the main avenue, which branched east and west before reaching the pond, there was a constant stream of visitors. Children crowded around the cages, while coffee-seeking adults found the longed-for beverage at countless tables, to the sound of music, in front of the main restaurant and the Café Benther, later the Café Liedtke.
So our beloved Zoo was no ordinary menagerie (a belated bravo for that!), and it could hardly be called a quiet idyll!
At best, the aviary by the pond might have deserved that epithet; for when you entered its bright glass "temple" early on a spring morning, with thousands of purple wisteria blossoms hanging from the ceiling, you could certainly call what you saw an idyll. Yet even here peace and quiet were far from reigning: the chirping, singing, screeching and trilling were loud enough, softening even the hardest of hearts.
But it is not the bird house I mean when I say that the Zoo had a quiet corner. I want to tell you about the "flamingo corner" (Flamingowinkel), as we always called it.
It could be reached from the Café Bender. The "flamingo corner" lay on a gracefully curved, narrow peninsula jutting into the pond by the observation tower. At its tip stood a small wooden viewing pavilion and a few benches. Here you could sit in a peaceful setting, comfortably watching the noble birds or simply enjoying the silhouette of the tower.
The numerous flamingos wandered pensively and silently along the banks of the pond, not in the least shy of people; they often came up to the pavilion and studied the visitors sitting there with their pale yellow eyes, without ever being intrusive. They knew neither fear nor agitation; they were the very embodiment of calm, yet they did not seem the philosophising bores that the bald marabou did. Added to this were their exquisitely beautiful pale pink plumage, the sight of their gracefully curved necks and, not least, their admirable behaviour.
And so even the most irascible and ill-mannered person was compelled to fall silent in this place, and for that reason alone the "flamingo corner" deserved its place on the list of the most pleasant spots in Königsberg.
What has become of you, peaceful dwellers of the Nile?
Translated from Russian with the help of AI (Claude, Anthropic), October 2026.
