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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
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===THE BLUMENFELD FAMILY===
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===CIRCUS MEDRANO-SWOBODA===
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[[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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[[File:Medrano-Swoboda-1936.jpeg|right|400px]]
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Between the two World Wars, Circus Medrano aus Wien was one of Austria’s most important circuses. Its fame owed much to the Medrano Sisters—Therese, Wanda, and Anita Swoboda—whose celebrated equestrian act appeared in leading circuses and variety theaters throughout Europe. Despite sharing its name with the legendary Parisian circus, the Austrian Circus Medrano had no connection to it. It was “the other Medrano”—and remains so today, as the title has survived and, as of 2011, belongs to the Italian Casartelli family.
  
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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.
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Its founder, Ludwig Swoboda (1881-1952), was born on December 9, 1881 in Dürnbach, Burgenland, in what was then the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Dürnbach became part of Austria in 1918). His parents were of Czechoslovakian descent and although they didn’t come from a circus family, they owned a small circus that traveled in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They always called Ludwig, who was born in the family’s horse-drawn living wagon, Lajos—the Hungarian equivalent of his German name.  
  
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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.
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Ludwig received a traditional circus education within his family and was trained in all facets of circus arts, from tumbling to equestrianism. He grew into an ambitious young man and, at twenty-three, he decided to run his own circus. ''Zirkus Lajos'', as he called it, opened in Vienna on June 3, 1904. It was not yet an important enterprise when Ludwig Swoboda married Therese Karfiol (1893-1971) on January 16, 1912 in Vienna. Therese was fifth-generation of an old family of comedians and entertainers, allied to the Czech Berouzek (Berosini) circus family; she was an equestrienne and she knew the circus business in and out. Therese would be instrumental in the management and development of her husband’s circus.
  
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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...]])
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In 1914, at the outset of the First World War, Ludwig was drafted into the Imperial Army and the circus went into a long hibernation. The war over, Zirkus Lajos finally reopened; the year was 1919, and it started its tour in its home city of Vienna, where it played during the Easter season. After the deadly conflict that had devastated Europe, popular entertainment was much in demand, and circuses were flourishing; under the management of Ludwig and Therese Swoboda, Zirkus Lajos was no exception, and by 1920, it performed under a large, two-pole big top and was one of Austria’s largest circuses..... ([[Circus Medrano-Swoboda|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
 
* [[The Blumenfeld Family]], circus owners, artists
 
* [[The Blumenfeld Family]], circus owners, artists
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* [[Émilien Bouglione/fr|Émilien Bouglione]], French version
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* [[Émilien Bouglione/fr|Émilien Bouglione]], equestrian, circus owner (French version)
 
* [[Kremo Family]], icarists
 
* [[Kremo Family]], icarists
 
* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus
 
* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus
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* [[Carlos Guity]], acrobat
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* [[Carlos Guity]], Acrobat
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
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* [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn & André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)
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* [[Katunin_and_Petrova_Video_(2026)|Viktor Katunin & Diana Petrova]], strap act (2026)
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* [[Merkys_Video_(1964)|The 3 Merkys]], horizontal bars (1964)
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* [[Yusupov Video (2026)| Feruz Yusupov]], strongman act (2026)
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* [[Davis_Vassallo_Video_(2024)|Davis Vassallo]], clown entrée (2024)
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* [[Eros_Casartelli_-_liberty_(1991)|Eros Casartelli]], liberty act (1991)
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* [[Pogorelov_Video_(2026)|Andrei Pogorelov]], wheel of death (2026)
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* [[Armand_Guerre_Video_(1969)|Armand Guerre & Maurice]], sea lion act (1969)
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* [[Kremo_Troupe_Video_(1896)|The Kremo Troupe]], Risley act (1896)
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* [[Alex_and_Lucy_Video_(1995)|Alex & Lucy]], perch-pole balancing (1995)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Latest revision as of 23:54, 21 October 2026


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Circopedia is an independent educational website, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

CIRCUS MEDRANO-SWOBODA

Medrano-Swoboda-1936.jpeg

Between the two World Wars, Circus Medrano aus Wien was one of Austria’s most important circuses. Its fame owed much to the Medrano Sisters—Therese, Wanda, and Anita Swoboda—whose celebrated equestrian act appeared in leading circuses and variety theaters throughout Europe. Despite sharing its name with the legendary Parisian circus, the Austrian Circus Medrano had no connection to it. It was “the other Medrano”—and remains so today, as the title has survived and, as of 2011, belongs to the Italian Casartelli family.

Its founder, Ludwig Swoboda (1881-1952), was born on December 9, 1881 in Dürnbach, Burgenland, in what was then the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Dürnbach became part of Austria in 1918). His parents were of Czechoslovakian descent and although they didn’t come from a circus family, they owned a small circus that traveled in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They always called Ludwig, who was born in the family’s horse-drawn living wagon, Lajos—the Hungarian equivalent of his German name.

Ludwig received a traditional circus education within his family and was trained in all facets of circus arts, from tumbling to equestrianism. He grew into an ambitious young man and, at twenty-three, he decided to run his own circus. Zirkus Lajos, as he called it, opened in Vienna on June 3, 1904. It was not yet an important enterprise when Ludwig Swoboda married Therese Karfiol (1893-1971) on January 16, 1912 in Vienna. Therese was fifth-generation of an old family of comedians and entertainers, allied to the Czech Berouzek (Berosini) circus family; she was an equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback. and she knew the circus business in and out. Therese would be instrumental in the management and development of her husband’s circus.

In 1914, at the outset of the First World War, Ludwig was drafted into the Imperial Army and the circus went into a long hibernation. The war over, Zirkus Lajos finally reopened; the year was 1919, and it started its tour in its home city of Vienna, where it played during the Easter season. After the deadly conflict that had devastated Europe, popular entertainment was much in demand, and circuses were flourishing; under the management of Ludwig and Therese Swoboda, Zirkus Lajos was no exception, and by 1920, it performed under a large, two-pole big topThe circus tent. America: The main tent of a traveling circus, where the show is performed, as opposed to the other tops. (French, Russian: Chapiteau) and was one of Austria’s largest circuses..... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Viktor Katunin & Diana Petrova, strap actAerial act performed hanging from a pair of fabric or leather straps. (See Aerial Straps.) (2026)
  • Feruz Yusupov, strongman act (2026)
  • Eros Casartelli, liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip. act (1991)
  • Armand Guerre & Maurice, sea lion act (1969)
  • Alex & Lucy, perch-poleLong perch held vertically on a performer's shoulder or forehead, on the top of which an acrobat executes various balancing figures. balancing (1995)

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

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
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