From Vilstaler Wildpark to Bayern-Park

An idea born on the family farm

The story begins at Fellbach in 1978. Elfriede and Alfons Hochholzer imagined opening a wildlife park on the family farm, surrounded by wooded and rolling countryside. Several years of planning and approvals followed. Work on the first animal enclosures and food facilities began in 1981. This origin explains why Bayern-Park never developed as a dense park built on a flat site: its paths, meadows and animal life came before the large mechanical rides.

Vilstaler Wildpark opens in 1985

Vilstaler Wildpark officially welcomed its first visitors on 2 August 1985. Fallow deer, red deer, birds of prey and mainly native species formed the heart of the visit, while the food offering focused on simple Bavarian cooking. At that stage, the destination was closer to a wildlife walk than an amusement park. That early character has never completely disappeared: open ground, animal enclosures and rural references can still be found between today’s rides.

August 1991: the move into amusement rides

After five years of operation, the Hochholzer family began adding the first rides. In August 1991, Vilstaler Wildpark officially became Bayern-Park. Parkrundfahrt, Sommerrodelbahn, Schweinchenbahn, Schienenzug and Elektroautos formed the first landmarks of the new amusement park. Several of those experiences, or their direct legacy, remain recognisable today. Understanding this transition helps visitors read the grounds differently: Bayern-Park did not erase its wildlife-park past, but built its rides around it.