The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km² (6,054-acre) wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, 80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. Since 1919, it has been open to the public. Its name consists of its location by the Lainz district of Vienna's 13th District, and Tiergarten, which means zoo (literally, "animal garden"). Location The Lainzer Tiergarten is located mostly in Vienna's 13th district, with a small adjacent portion lying in Laab im Walde, Lower Austria. The Wien River is located to its north, the Liesingbach to its south. History Emperor Ferdinand I created the Lainzer Tiergarten in 1561. He had wooden fence built to enclose an area that he could use as a private hunting preserve. In 1781, a stone wall replaced the wooden fence. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Austrian government declared the grounds a public nature preserve, though between 1940 and 1955, the entire grounds were closed to the public. Until 1973 access to the preserve required the payment of an admission fee. Since then admission is free. A large portion of the Lainzer Tiergarten was lost after World War I, when the Friedenstadt ("Peace City") neighborhood was constructed in its eastern portion. The old wall can still be seen in the Hörndlwald woods east of the Lainzer Tor. Construction of the Westautobahn in the 1960s took a corner in the northwest of the preserve. This time there was compensation, however, as a portion of the Laaber Wald, adjacent to the southwest corner, was annexed. Wildlife Today the Lainzer Tiergarten is home to between 800 and 1,000 wild boar, 200 to 250 fallow deer, approximately 700 mouflons, and 80 to 100 red deer (elk). Gates The preserve is surrounded by approximately of wall. There are seven gates, with different operating hours. Clockwise these are: Lainzer Tor (main gate) Gütenbachtor Laaber Tor Pulverstampftor Nikolaitor Sankt Veiter Tor The entire preserve is open for approximately nine months of the year, from early March to early November. In the remaining months only the park around the Hermesvilla, accessible from the Lainzer Tor, is open. Between Christmas and the New Year, the entire park opens, but is only accessible from the Lainzer Tor and Nikolaitor. Lainzer Tor As it is open year-round, and is home to