Circus Knie (, ) is the largest

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, based in

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

History

The circus was founded in 1803 by the Knie family and has existed in its present form since 1919, when it changed from an open arena to a covered tent. The circus has long been famous for its animals and now operates a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

(

Knie's Kinderzoo Knie's Kinderzoo (German: ''Knies Kinderzoo'') is a zoo aimed for children. It is located in the Swiss municipality of Rapperswil. Location Aimed for children, the zoo is located at ''Oberseestrasse'' nearby Seedamm respectively Rapperswi ...

) while its

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

in Rapperswil closed in July 2017. In 1999, Franco Knie was named Best Animal Tamer at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo. Today, the circus is an enterprise with about 200 employees, operated by Frédy and Franco Knie in partnership with insurance company

Swiss Life The Swiss Life Group is the largest life insurance company of Switzerland and one of Europe’s leading comprehensive life and pensions and financial services providers, with approximately CHF 255.7 bn of assets under management. Founded in 1857 ...

Tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

David Dimitri David Dimitri (born March 7, 1963) is a Swiss tightrope walking, tightrope acrobatics, acrobat. Combining an education at the State Academy for Circus Arts in Budapest and at New York’s Juilliard School, David Dimitri performed his wire dances ...

has been associated with the circus. A co-production with

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

was mounted in 1992. In 1999, Karls kühne Gassenschau toured with the Swiss National Circus. In 2000, it was the focus on ''Hanna & Knill'' including six clown cabarets with Ueli Bichsel, ''Neda und Maite'', and Gardi Hutter. Ursus & Nadeschkin became in 2002 the leading act and headline of the Circus Knie, performing 257 times during the 2002 season tour and having an audience totaling one million spectators.

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco Princess Stéphanie of Monaco (Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth Grimaldi; born 1 February 1965) is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and his wife, American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco ...

travelled with the circus for some months in 2001 and 2002, while in a relationship with Franco Knie.

References

External links

*
Circus Knie official website
{{Authority control Circuses Rapperswil-Jona Culture of the canton of St. Gallen Tourist attractions in Rapperswil-Jona