Difference between revisions of "Main Page"
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ε!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!</div><br/> | ε!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!</div><br/> | ||
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia is an independent educational website, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.</div><br/> | <div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia is an independent educational website, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.</div><br/> | ||
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==In The Spotlight== | ==In The Spotlight== | ||
| − | === | + | ===THE BLUMENFELD FAMILY=== |
| − | [[File: | + | [[File:5_Blumenfelds_Poster.jpg|right|300px]]The huge Blumenfeld family holds an important place in German and European circus history. One of the three major German-Jewish circus dynasties before World War II—along with the Strassburgers and the Lorches—the Blumenfelds were driven to bankruptcy and then brutally decimated by the Nazis. Before that tragedy, they had been a highly respected family of talented acrobats, equestrians, and circus owners. Although some members of the family resurfaced after World War II, the Blumenfelds were never able to reclaim the position they had once held in the circus world. |
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| − | The | + | The Blumenfelds are allied with several other prominent Jewish families, such as the Goldkettes (Brönett), the Strassburgers, the Lorches, and the Könyots. They always married within their faith and, at times, like the Rothschilds, within their family—with perhaps the notable exceptions of Erich Blumenfeld, the youngest son of Simon Blumenfeld, who married Fanny Houcke, from the Franco-Swedish Houcke family, and his brother Alex, whose wife, Eugenie, came from an old Italian circus family, the Cardinales. |
| − | + | Since Hirsch Blumenfeld (1788-1867), founder of the dynasty, created his circus in the mid-nineteenth century, many of his descendants have operated several different circuses under the Blumenfeld name. Hirsch had a large family that developed many branches, and it can be sometimes difficult to determine which branch a given Blumenfeld belonged to. The Blumenfeld circus owners, however, shared one defining trait: they were equestrians who served the equestrian circus tradition with distinction, even as the circus-menagerie was becoming the norm in Germany by the beginning of the twentieth century. | |
| − | + | Hirsch Blumenfeld was born Hirsch Levy in 1788 in Isenburg, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, one of the many German states. His parents were Levy Wolf (1770-1828), a Jewish cantor, and his wife Rosa (Rösgen), née Cahn (?-1840). The Blumenfeld patronym came later: under Jewish naming tradition, a son took his father’s given name as a patronym, so Hirsch, as Levy’s son, became Hirsch Levy. Hirsch didn't embrace his father's calling: He became instead a traveling entertainer, an occupation that had attracted many of his coreligionists over the centuries..... ([[The Blumenfeld Family|more...]]) | |
==New Essays and Biographies== | ==New Essays and Biographies== | ||
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* [[Kremo Family]], icarists | * [[Kremo Family]], icarists | ||
* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus | * [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus | ||
| − | * [[Carlos Guity]], | + | * [[Carlos Guity]], Acrobat |
==New Videos== | ==New Videos== | ||
| + | * [[* [[The_Astoris_Video_(1975)|The Astoris]], Aerial Perch (1975) | ||
* [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn & André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025) | * [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn & André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025) | ||
* [[Merkys_Video_(1964)|The 3 Merkys]], horizontal bars (1964) | * [[Merkys_Video_(1964)|The 3 Merkys]], horizontal bars (1964) | ||
* [[Davis_Vassallo_Video_(2024)|Davis Vassallo]], clown entrée (2024) | * [[Davis_Vassallo_Video_(2024)|Davis Vassallo]], clown entrée (2024) | ||
* [[Pogorelov_Video_(2026)|Andrei Pogorelov]], wheel of death (2026) | * [[Pogorelov_Video_(2026)|Andrei Pogorelov]], wheel of death (2026) | ||
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==New Oral Histories== | ==New Oral Histories== | ||
Latest revision as of 23:51, 30 August 2026
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In The Spotlight
THE BLUMENFELD FAMILY
The Blumenfelds are allied with several other prominent Jewish families, such as the Goldkettes (Brönett), the Strassburgers, the Lorches, and the Könyots. They always married within their faith and, at times, like the Rothschilds, within their family—with perhaps the notable exceptions of Erich Blumenfeld, the youngest son of Simon Blumenfeld, who married Fanny Houcke, from the Franco-Swedish Houcke family, and his brother Alex, whose wife, Eugenie, came from an old Italian circus family, the Cardinales.
Since Hirsch Blumenfeld (1788-1867), founder of the dynasty, created his circus in the mid-nineteenth century, many of his descendants have operated several different circuses under the Blumenfeld name. Hirsch had a large family that developed many branches, and it can be sometimes difficult to determine which branch a given Blumenfeld belonged to. The Blumenfeld circus owners, however, shared one defining trait: they were equestrians who served the equestrian circus tradition with distinction, even as the circus-menagerie was becoming the norm in Germany by the beginning of the twentieth century.
Hirsch Blumenfeld was born Hirsch Levy in 1788 in Isenburg, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, one of the many German states. His parents were Levy Wolf (1770-1828), a Jewish cantor, and his wife Rosa (Rösgen), née Cahn (?-1840). The Blumenfeld patronym came later: under Jewish naming tradition, a son took his father’s given name as a patronym, so Hirsch, as Levy’s son, became Hirsch Levy. Hirsch didn't embrace his father's calling: He became instead a traveling entertainer, an occupation that had attracted many of his coreligionists over the centuries..... (more...)
New Essays and Biographies
- The Blumenfeld Family, circus owners, artists
- Émilien Bouglione, French version
- Kremo Family, icarists
- The Ziratron, Israel's first Circus
- Carlos Guity, Acrobat
New Videos
- [[* The Astoris, Aerial Perch (1975)
- Evelyn & André Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)
- The 3 Merkys, horizontal bars (1964)
- Davis Vassallo, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (2024)
- Andrei Pogorelov, wheel of death (2026)
New Oral Histories
- Evelyn & André Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)
- The Bouglione Family France 3 TV documentary (2013)
- Valentin Gneushev interview on Russian Television (c.1990)
- Dominique Jando interview by the Circus Historical Society (2025)
- Evelyn & André Interview on Blikk TV (2015)
Circopedia Books
- Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus, by Dominique Jando (2018)
A Message from the Founder
CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus, maintained by reliable circus historians and specialists. 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
