Prague Zoo Inherits Over 13 Million Crowns and Two Apartments Under a Will

Prague Zoo has received an inheritance worth more than 13 million crowns from a deceased private benefactor, consisting of two properties and cash. The zoo's spokesman, Filip Mašek, confirmed the news, noting that such bequests happen almost every year and are far from unusual.

The inheritance case was handled by the Prague 8 District Court, though the donor's name and the case number remain confidential to protect personal data. The decision to accept the inheritance was approved by Prague City Council, as the zoo's founding body — according to an August resolution, the total sum amounts to 13,182,534.98 crowns.

Cash and Property Bequests

According to Mašek, the zoo more often receives real estate in Prague and its surroundings rather than large cash sums — and given the high property prices in the region, this tends to make the overall value of such inheritances quite substantial. For instance, in 2023 the zoo inherited a house with a plot of land in Zbraslav worth 16 million crowns.

Over the past year, the largest single donation was an inheritance worth around 10 million crowns, of which nearly one million was in cash and about 9 million in securities. All such funds go toward the zoo's core operations — its upkeep and daily running.

A Regular Visitor and a Record-Breaking Gift

One well-known case is that of the late Mrs. J. R., who in 2021 left the zoo nearly 17 million crowns in cash and property. She had no relatives, and according to her friends, she had visited the zoo regularly throughout her life to relax. “Mrs. R. and I were an inseparable trio for half a century — we were kindred spirits our whole lives... In her final months, once she realized her life was drawing to a close, she began thinking about what to do with the property she would leave behind,” her friends wrote in a letter to the zoo.

The largest private donation in the zoo's history, however, remains a gift of 60 million crowns. It was left by breeder and exotic bird enthusiast Stanislav Rakoš, who died in the autumn of 2012. He bequeathed shares in residential buildings and land plots worth roughly 50 million crowns, along with 10 million crowns in cash. Under an agreement with the donor, residents of the buildings in Smíchov and Strašnice were promised the right to stay there for as long as they wished — the apartments are eventually meant to serve as housing for zoo staff. The cash, meanwhile, funded the construction of a modern pavilion for rare parrots, opened in 2019 and named in Rakoš's honor.

Zoo management describes such bequests not merely as financial support but as an expression of trust. According to the spokesman, the institution's new director intends to find ways to honor the memory of these donors somewhere on the zoo grounds itself.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz