History of the park

1969 Creation of ‘La Montagne des Singes’

A bold bet!

It was in 1969 that Gilbert de Turckheim and Jacques Renaud decided to open ‘la Montagne des Singes’ in Alsace. The concept is to give the opportunity to visitors to see animals evolving in complete freedom in optimal living conditions, close to the wild state.

It was Jacques Renaud’s father, Jean-Paul Renaud, who, having lived in Algeria, suggested choosing the Barbary macaque. In the Chiffa gorges, south of Algiers near the inn ‘Au Ruisseau des Singes’, lived wild Barbary macaques who had become familiar with humans and became an attraction for passing tourists and local populations.

The idea immediately appealed and the park opened on August 9th with a population of 150 Barbary macaques from the Moroccan Middle Atlas who quickly took possession of the place made of forests and meadows.

An ambitious and somewhat risky bet, but the conditions for such an installation are favourable: monkeys live in the Middle Atlas in climatic conditions close to those we experience in Alsace. The site chosen for the establishment is superb. The ‘Haut-Koenigsbourg’ castle and the very young ‘Volerie des Aigles’ (opened in 1968) attract many visitors.

The Barbary macaques’ adaptation in Alsace was a success and quickly the park became an essential outing.

It’s in 1974 that ‘la Forêt des Singes’ opened, building on the success of ‘la Montagne des Singes’ in Kintzheim.