Abstract
Knowledge of history often plays a key role in understandingof contemporary world. When looking into the past, however, onecannot be satisfied only with knowledge of the development of existingentities, but also of those that have disappeared.
Understanding ofdefunct facilities is very important, as it can fundamentally "add toor redraw the picture" of contemporary reality. Zoological gardens (Zoos) are one of the social constructs, and therefore they have notonly established, but also been closed.
Although the main wave of zoo-establishments in Czechia took place after the Second World War,in the 1920s, there was a great development of aquarium societies and the establishment of their public aquariums. At the same time, most of them disappeared due to the further development.
Also in Chrudim, a public aquarium and a zoo in the city park were in operation in the interwar period. After several successful short-time exhibitions, the local aquarium society Pluto managed to build th edesired permanent facility after ten years of existence.
As the research of (not only) periodical publications has shown, this zoo only existedfor a little over five years in the years 1934-1939, but it was one of the most important in whole Bohemia. Aquarium and terrarium species were on display in the greenhouse, and mammals and birds in the outdoor aviaries.