Eifelpark, Wildlife park and zoo in Gondorf, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Eifelpark is a wildlife and leisure park in Gondorf near Bitburg, opened in 1964 as Hochwildpark Eifel, Germany's first open-air wildlife enclosure. Its Bergwildpark holds over 200 animals along a 3.5 km circular trail, including the bear gorge with brown bears and a lynx station, plus wild boar, red deer and fallow deer. Rides range from the 1,050 m all-weather Eifel Coaster to the 50 m Platzhirsch booster swing. The mascot Purzel, a brown bear in a red cap and neckerchief, appears on a slide at the park.
Eifelpark opened in 1964 as Hochwildpark Eifel, the first open-air wildlife enclosure in what was then West Germany. Brown bears arrived in 1969, and Berlin took on sponsorship of the bear gorge. In 1975 Helmut Kohl, then Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, opened the new mountain wildlife park. After a 2012 bankruptcy, new owners from Munich took over on 16 October 2013 and reopened the park on 5 April 2014.
The park's mascots are two bears: Petz and Petzi got "engaged" in May 2008, inviting 82 mascots from across Germany to set a record for the largest mascot gathering. In 2014 they were renamed Purzel and Tatze. A brown bear figure in a red cap and neckerchief, shirt reading "Eifel-Petz", sits on a metal-and-clear-panel slide emerging from a stone tunnel.
A single entry ticket grants access to all attractions and animal enclosures without additional fees. The park provides ample parking and permits leashed dogs in designated areas.
The park's mascots Petz and Petzi got engaged in May 2008, inviting 82 other mascots from across Germany to set a record for the largest mascot gathering. In 2014 they were renamed Purzel and Tatze. A brown bear figure in a red cap and neckerchief, labelled "Eifel-Petz", sits on a metal-and-clear-panel slide.
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