Founded by the animal photographer Otto Koenig and his wife, the illustrator Lilli Koenig as “Biologische Station Wilhelminenberg” (Biological Station Wilhelminenberg) in 1945, it was later named after the Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz and incorporated into the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in 2011.
The “Biologische Station Wilheminenberg” was founded by the biologist couple Otto and Lilli Koenig in response to the ground-breaking research in the field of comparative ethology, including the work by Konrad Lorenz.
Otto Koenig, who became a public figure through his role as a presenter of nature documentaries,[2] remained director also after this re-structuring until his retirement in 1984.
Under the leadership of Hans Winkler, the Konrad Lorenz Institute was gradually modernised and both laboratories and staff were extended.
The restructuring of 2011 broadened the research objectives to include physiological and ecological aspects of wild animals in interaction with their environment.