Pionirska dolina, Zoo and recreational center in Centar municipality, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Pionirska dolina is a zoo and recreational park in the Centar municipality of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, combining animal enclosures with open green areas. Paths wind through the grounds, passing habitats for a range of animal species alongside open spaces suited to walking and resting.
Pionirska dolina is the oldest zoo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It began during the Austro-Hungarian period at a site in Ilidža, then was relocated to the Centar municipality in Sarajevo. It started operating in the 1970s, was razed during the Bosnian War, and began rebuilding in the first decade of the 21st century.
The name Pionirska dolina means "Pioneers' Valley" in Bosnian, recalling the socialist youth culture that shaped the park's early identity. The zoo began operating in the 1970s and was razed during the Bosnian War; it has been rebuilt since the 2000s. Today families from Sarajevo come to see animals such as the brown bear and pythons, and the zoo has exchanged animals with zoos in Belgrade and Banja Luka.
The park is easy to reach on foot or by public transport from central Sarajevo and works well for a half-day or full-day outing. Paths are clearly marked, making it straightforward to find your way around even without a map.
In early 2012 the zoo displayed 52 dinosaur reconstructions made by a German palaeontological research centre, under the supervision of the paleontology museum in Hanover. The models filled the valley from 25 January to 19 February 2012.
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