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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Krone_Hallstein.jpg|right|300px]]
 
===CIRCUS KRONE===
 
  
Circus Krone is the world's oldest circus company: It has been owned and operated continuously by the same family for more than a century and has maintained all that time the standards of quality initiated by its founder, Carl Krone, as well as its original menagerie’s heritage. Its tours in many European countries, especially between the two world wars, have established its fame beyond the confines of Germany, its homeland. In addition, under various incarnations, its permanent circus building in Munich, the Kronebau, has been home to regular winter circus productions since 1919.
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[[File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Front_View_(2013).jpg|right|400px]]
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===LE CIRQUE D'HIVER DE PARIS===
  
Founded by Carl Krone (1833-1900), then developed by his son, Carl Krone, Jr. (1870-1943), the Krone organization typically raised from a fairground menagerie to a giant circus, according to a pattern quite common at the turn of the twentieth century in Europe, triggered by the European tour of the giant American circus Barnum & Bailey, which introduced European audiences to their first three-ring circus traveling with a full-fledged menagerie.
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Located in the heart of Paris, between the Place de la République and the Place de la Bastille, at the edge of the historical Marais, the Cirque d’Hiver is the world’s oldest extant circus building. It is also the world’s oldest circus still in activity: It opened its doors in 1852. Its address, at 110 rue Amelot, may seem inconspicuous, but at that precise point, the rue Amelot opens onto the Boulevard du Temple through the small Place Pasdeloup: The Cirque d’Hiver is therefore quite noticeable, practically "on the Boulevards."
  
Yet, unlike other enterprises that followed the same model, Circus Krone’s discreet owners remained financially conservative, avoiding the dangerous ostentation of some of their colleagues, and in doing so, they averted the crises and failures that had often plagued their competition. They developed international tour strategies that followed the ever-changing European economic cycles, which were strongly sustained by their successful activities in their home-based circus building, Munich’s Kronebau, established in 1919.
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The Cirque d’Hiver (literally, the ''winter circus'') was built for circus entrepreneur Louis Dejean (1797-1879) to serve as his circus company’s winter home. Dejean already managed the Cirque des Champs-Elysées in the fashionable ''Jardins des Champs-Elysées'', which he kept open from May through October. Up to 1846, his main establishment had been the Cirque Olympique, located some five hundred yards from his new circus, on the portion of the Boulevard du Temple that disappeared in 1862 to give room to the present Place de la République, during the renovation of Paris by the Baron Haussmann.  
  
After WWII and the death of Carl Krone Jr. in 1943, Circus Krone became, remarkably, a woman affair: It has been first led magnificently by Frieda Krone Sembach (1915-1995), Carl’s daughter, then by her daughter, Christel Krone Sembach (1956-2017), and today by Jana Mandana Krone, Christel’s adoptive daughter—the three of them having excelled in equestrian and animal presentations as much as in circus management. Krone has proudly remained during all that time Größter Circus Europas ("Europe’s Largest Circus").... ([[Circus Krone|more...]])
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Dejean had sold his old Cirque Olympique in 1847; although it had been built only twenty years earlier (in 1827), it had already lost its appeal and was not practical anymore. Like many circus buildings of its generation, it had been designed with both a circus ring and a full theater stage, and consequently, it was easy for its new owners to transform it into a legitimate theater, the ''Théâtre du Cirque Olympique''. With no permanent home in the winter, Dejean had taken to sending his troupe abroad, to London or Berlin. Although these forays into foreign lands had proved successful enough, having a new winter base in Paris still made more sense.
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Thus, Dejean asked Jacques-Ignace Hittorff (1792-1867), the City of Paris’s Chief Architect, to design the plans for a new circus. Hittorf had already built the Cirque des Champs-Elysées for Dejean, as well as its twin counterpart, the Panorama (today Théâtre du Rond-Point), which were part of the master plan for the renovation of the Chanps-Elysées gardens in the 1840s. Hittorff had also supervised the redesign of the Place de la Concorde (notably with the addition of his own monumental fountain, ''La Fontaine des Mers'') and he would later build Paris’s Gare du Nord, the twelve ''hôtels particuliers'' (townhouses) that surround the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l'Étoile, and many other "classic revival" pieces of work—a style of which he was one of the most influential proponents.... ([[Cirque d'Hiver|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==
  
 +
* [[Tamerlan Nugzarov]], Cossack Rider
 
* [[Circus Krone]], History
 
* [[Circus Krone]], History
 
* [[Nell Gifford]], Circus Owner
 
* [[Nell Gifford]], Circus Owner
 
* [[William Vos]], Animal Trainer
 
* [[William Vos]], Animal Trainer
 
* [[Jürg Jenny]], Animal Trainer
 
* [[Jürg Jenny]], Animal Trainer
* [[Kio]], Magician
 
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Anthony_Gatto_2008_Video|Anthony Gatto]], Juggler (2008)
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* [[Kotsuba_Video_(1989)|The Kotsubas]], Hand-to-Hand Balancing (1989)
* [[Roby_Gasser_BAC_1988_Video|Roby Gasser]], Sealion Act (1988)
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* [[Ayala_Video_2020|Ayala Troupe]], High Wire (2020)
* [[Gvozdetskaya_Video_(2005)|Gvozedskaya Troupe]], Russian Barre (2005)
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* [[Flying_Navas_Video_(1989)|The Flying Navas]], Flying Trapeze (1989)
* [[Katja_Schumann_BAC_Video_(1993)|Katja and Max Schumann]], Equestrian Display (1993)
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* [[Mariya_Sarach_Video_2020|Mariya Sarach]], Hand-Balancer (2020)
* [[Aniskin_Troupe_Trapeze_BAC_2002_Video|The Aniskin Troupe]], Flying Trapeze (2002)
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* [[Melinkov_Video_(1951)|Duo Melinkov]], Hand-to-Hand Balancing (1951)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Revision as of 22:10, 12 July 2020

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Circopedia was originally created with the support of the Big Apple Circus
and inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

Cirque d'Hiver - Front View (2013).jpg

LE CIRQUE D'HIVER DE PARIS

Located in the heart of Paris, between the Place de la République and the Place de la Bastille, at the edge of the historical Marais, the Cirque d’Hiver is the world’s oldest extant circus building. It is also the world’s oldest circus still in activity: It opened its doors in 1852. Its address, at 110 rue Amelot, may seem inconspicuous, but at that precise point, the rue Amelot opens onto the Boulevard du Temple through the small Place Pasdeloup: The Cirque d’Hiver is therefore quite noticeable, practically "on the Boulevards."

The Cirque d’Hiver (literally, the winter circus) was built for circus entrepreneur Louis Dejean (1797-1879) to serve as his circus company’s winter home. Dejean already managed the Cirque des Champs-Elysées in the fashionable Jardins des Champs-Elysées, which he kept open from May through October. Up to 1846, his main establishment had been the Cirque Olympique, located some five hundred yards from his new circus, on the portion of the Boulevard du Temple that disappeared in 1862 to give room to the present Place de la République, during the renovation of Paris by the Baron Haussmann.

Dejean had sold his old Cirque Olympique in 1847; although it had been built only twenty years earlier (in 1827), it had already lost its appeal and was not practical anymore. Like many circus buildings of its generation, it had been designed with both a circus ring and a full theater stage, and consequently, it was easy for its new owners to transform it into a legitimate theater, the Théâtre du Cirque Olympique. With no permanent home in the winter, Dejean had taken to sending his troupe abroad, to London or Berlin. Although these forays into foreign lands had proved successful enough, having a new winter base in Paris still made more sense.

Thus, Dejean asked Jacques-Ignace Hittorff (1792-1867), the City of Paris’s Chief Architect, to design the plans for a new circus. Hittorf had already built the Cirque des Champs-Elysées for Dejean, as well as its twin counterpart, the Panorama (today Théâtre du Rond-Point), which were part of the master plan for the renovation of the Chanps-Elysées gardens in the 1840s. Hittorff had also supervised the redesign of the Place de la Concorde (notably with the addition of his own monumental fountain, La Fontaine des Mers) and he would later build Paris’s Gare du Nord, the twelve hôtels particuliers (townhouses) that surround the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l'Étoile, and many other "classic revival" pieces of work—a style of which he was one of the most influential proponents.... (more...)

New Biographies

New Videos

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

A Message from the Editor

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. Keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to contact us: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.

Dominique Jando
Founder and Curator