Nordens Ark, Wildlife conservation park in Sotenäs Municipality, Sweden.
Nordens Ark is a wildlife conservation park in Sotenäs Municipality that spans the grounds of the historic Åby Manor and features enclosures for endangered species from cold-climate regions. The facility provides spacious areas for the animals and displays a diverse collection of species from northern environments.
Åby Manor is documented from 1307, when King Håkon of Norway lived there, making it one of Bohuslän's oldest estates. Margareta Hvitfeldt bought the property in 1661 and left it to a scholarship fund after her death in 1683. The Bohus Breeding Center Foundation was founded on 8 March 1988, and Nordens Ark was inaugurated by King Carl XVI Gustaf on 14 June 1989. The foundation bought the 383-hectare manor in 1996 and took its present name in 1997.
The name means "Ark of the North", echoing Noah's Ark in the Bible. The park keeps around sixty threatened species, mostly mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles from the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, plus endangered Nordic farm breeds such as the Väne cow and Jämt goat at the Lantgård in the north of the grounds.
The park lies on the grounds of Åby Manor by Åbyfjorden in Sotenäs Municipality and is open to visitors every day of the year. A hotel with conference facilities has stood next to the park since 2005. Part of the site, the breeding and quarantine area called Lunden, is closed to visitors.
The pillar on the lawn carries the words NORDENS ARK cut vertically into the stone in reddish-brown capitals, with a single grey rock set against its base. Behind it stand red wooden buildings and green trees. The name alludes to Noah's Ark in the Bible.
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