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. The research institute was established in abandoned army barracks[1] in the outskirts of Vienna’s 16th district Ottakring at the onset of the Vienna Woods, and endowed with substantial space and facilities supported by private means.
The facility developed and was re-structured into the Institute of Ethology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1967. 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. He was succeeded by the ornithologist Hans Winkler. When Konrad Lorenz died in 1989, the institute was renamed after him.
Under the leadership of Hans Winkler, the Konrad Lorenz Institute was gradually modernised and both laboratories and staff were extended. This resulted in substantial refurbishments between 1985 and 2002, when Dustin J. Penn succeeded Winkler as director.
In 2011, the Konrad Lorenz Institute joined the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and with the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology formed a new Department. Both research institutes combined now provide a facility for approximately 80 scientists. Director of the Konrad Lorenz Institute is now Leonida Fusani. Since spring 2015, the Konrad Lorenz Institute is also the headquarter of the Austrian Ornithological Centre (AOC).[3]