ABSTRACT
The city of Frankfurt was one of the most heavily bombed targets of the war, and on 18 March 1944 the Zoo's neat lawns, ponds and fine buildings were transformed into a wasteland of craters, rubble, and charred and broken trees. The city administration was agreeable to leasing the site but financial difficulties caused mainly by the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars of 1866 and 1870-1 delayed a final agreement until 1872, when a ninety-nine-year lease was granted to a re-established Frankfurt Zoological Society. Frankfurt's Aquarium set a new standard in layout. It had fourteen large fresh-water and salt-water tanks furnished with the biggest and strongest glass fronts that had ever been made. The pumps and filtration apparatus were technically better than those used in any other aquarium. Financial stability was assured when the Frankfurt City Council resumed regular grants for the maintenance of the Zoo, and by money raised by a 'Society of Friends of the Zoo'.
